Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has started mass production of next-generation processors for new iPhones launching later this year, according to Bloomberg.

The processor, likely to be called the A12 chip, will use a 7-nanometer design that can be more efficient than the 10-nanometer chips in current Apple devices.

Apple and TSMC spokeswomen declined to comment.

In April, TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, said it started mass-producing 7-nanometer processors.

Samsung Electronics, Apple's biggest competitor, is also working on adding 7nm chips on to its new phones, and said on Tuesday it will start churning out processors using the technique this year.

Apple is expected to launch three new iPhones this fall, including a larger version of the iPhone X's design, an update to the current iPhone X size, and a lower-cost model with many of the iPhone X's features but with a cheaper LCD screen.