Apple is planning to partner with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. for the production of its own 5G modems for future iPhones. Apple is said to be planning to use TSMC’s 4nm process node, which hasn’t yet been deployed for any commercial product; the modem is apparently being designed and tested at 5nm before moving to mass production in 2023 at 4nm. Apple’s switch to modems of its own design is widely expected to happen in 2023, and TSMC is their manufacturing partner. Qualcomm, which is the dominant player in the industry and produces modem components for the entire iPhone 13 lineup, said recently that it expects to account for just 20 percent of iPhone modem orders in two years’ time. TSMC is the manufacturer of all iPhone A-series processors and M1 systems-on-chip for Mac computers. 2022 iPhone SoCs will reportedly use TSMC’s 4nm process, and some iPad models are said to be adopting 3nm processors in 2023. Also, Nikkei says the iPhone will make the 3nm jump “as soon as” next year.

The Asus ROG 5S gaming phones are now available in US

The Asus ROG Phone 5S and ROG Phone 5S Pro are finally available in US. You can snag the 5S model with 16GB of RAM for $1,099. The 5S model also has an option for 12GB of RAM. On the higher end of the scale, the 5S Pro packs 18GB of RAM and goes for $1,299. While you can get the 5S in both black and white, the 5S Pro only comes in black. Both gaming phones have the Snapdragon 888 Plus, which should offer a small boost in performance when compared to the standard Snapdragon 888 that the Asus ROG Phone 5 and 5 Ultimate come with. The 5S and 5S Pro also offer an improved 360Hz touch-sampling rate, as opposed to 300Hz in previous ROG Phone 5 models. The phones offer a 6.78-inch display, 144Hz refresh rate, 6,000mAh battery, and a 64MP camera. Before arriving in the US, the ROG Phone 5S and 5S Pro initially went on sale in Taiwan in August, later reaching European markets in early November.