TSMC is already doing 7nm mass production right now:
https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20180622PD204.html
(arguably, what they call "7nm" isn't quite that, but still...)
Yes, intel's 10nm absolutely smashes Samsung, GF and TSMC's 10nm processes. Yes Intel's 10nm should be very competitive/comparable with Samsung/GF/TSMC's 7nm processes. But all of the Intel 10nm metrics are slightly worse than the 7nm processes its now competing with.
To cherrypick one metric as an example -
* TSMC 10nm sram bitcell size: 0.042 µm²
* Intel 10nm sram bitcell size: 0.031 µm²
* TSMC 7nm sram bitcell size: 0.027 µm²[0] https://www.semiwiki.com/forum/content/7343-leading-edge-log...
Also, one exists and the other is a broken hunk of silicon. That's the most important metric.
They're still ahead, but only until Intel finally ships 10nm.
I'm not sure how much this affects the industry in general, but I bet there are some interesting Intel vs Arm discussions being fueled in Apple's product roadmap meetings.
If we've gone asymptotic, it makes me wonder what other companies will be able to field a chip that's 90% as good as Intel in the next decade...
I don't believe a customer or customers have been announced publicly yet, but the rumour mill seems to think Apple's A12 will be one of the first to ship on TSMC 7nm.