Yes, GloFo and Samsung are partners of this joint venture, but that chip was made at a SUNY/IBM research facility:

http://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2015/07/ibm-unveils-industrys-first-7nm-chip-moving-beyond-silicon/

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/ibm-7nm-silicon-germanium-transistors,29546.html

Good very Good

I'd say 2019-20 seems very realistic...given how Samsung is already heading for 10nm.

I'd be up for a bet but the timescale is too long.

But are they going to start using that 10nm process with their SoC or with their NAND?

SoC. Of course, it remains to be seen if they'll actually launch anything 10nm in 2016, as they've stated, or both this and TSMC announcements are, what some consider, "paper wars".

Honestly, I think we're almost out of the woods after this 28nm wall, so, IMO, mature 7nm around 19/20 for consoles seems realistic.

I think they'll go with NAND first.

With all my respect for Samsung, to whom I believe they are very capable (unlike TSMC that always promises more than what it can actually do), I think Intel is better in this regard, and if Intel is having problems more so Samsung.

That's why I think they'll go NAND first given that its less complex.

Just for fun, reading some InfoWorld articles from 2004-2005 brings perspective on what the market of electronics hopes for and what it actually manages to release.

Some of those include:

- Intel using Indium Antimonide transistors in the 10s
- Intel using something else rather than silicon after 2013
- IBM releasing Carbon Nanotube transistors in the 10s
- IBM releasing Graphene chips at 250GHz in the 10s
- IBM trying to shove silicon-germanium on AMD for their 65nm process
- Nvidia head scientist expects 10nm and 20TFLOPS by 2015
- Epic Games counting on many, many core CPUs in the 10s

So after 4-5 years on 28nm and even Intel, with their absolutely massive R&D, delaying their chips and even foregoing their tick-tock philosophy for a third refresh on the same manufacturing process, I don't think there's particularly anything that grants optimism. Prototypes have always been done. Like 6nm transistors in 2002 or 22nm SRAM cells in 2006 by the very same IBM...

So when can I expect delivery of a digital watch with superior intelligence to humans?

you allready can buy it if you are realy stupid, there are watches that read the time for you...