AfterDawn: News

Apple to leave Samsung for TSMC on A6 chips?

According to Reuters, Apple has begun using TSMC to manufacture its upcoming A6 processing chips, potentially dumping long time partner Samsung in the process.

Fubon Securities analyst William Wang believes that Apple will remain with Samsung but diversify its manufacturing with TSMC:

Apple is trying to diversify its orders but it will still maintain some kind of relationship with Samsung. I think TSMC will get the new chip orders, the issue however is allocation. Apple won't give the whole 100 percent to TSMC. Maybe it'll allocate only 20-30 percent.

TSMC is the world's largest chip maker.

Moving completely away from Samsung would be near impossible, say industry analysts, as Samsung has designed the current chips and owns the intellectual property on system design and memory packaging.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 16 Jul 2011 19:29

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• 7 comments

• dali

  I guess they will. And then, they'll keep on using their chips until some sunny day on which they'll eventually sue them for some random reason.
  
  Very smart move, Apple, to become a sworn enemy of the company that actually builds your whole flagship (oh, wait, and only) smartphone. Well done. Nobody would expect less from ya.
  
  I found it quite hard to believe when they declared war to Adobe as well, but, hey, they must have some trial addiction or something.
  
  And why not spending time in developing anything but patent claims and marketing? Because, believe it or not, people will still face hours standing in an infinite row waiting to buy their next device. :/
  

  “You know, it seems that quotes on the internet are becoming less and less reliable.” -Abraham Lincoln.

  16.7.2011 19:53 #1

• dirtyash

  Yeah, if I was samsung I would be totally raising prices on everything apple needed from me. Their probably stuck in a contract in which they can't raise the price though.
  

  16.7.2011 21:28 #2

• KillerBug

  Originally posted by dirtyash: Yeah, if I was samsung I would be totally raising prices on everything apple needed from me. Their probably stuck in a contract in which they can't raise the price though. Yeah...but the contract probably also states that they will get to do the production.
  
  I can't help wondering if this has something to do with the screen supply issues they have been getting lately...samsung needs to build a new CPU fab and a new screen fab...maybe they only have the capital for one?
  

  http://www.killerbug.net

  16.7.2011 21:44 #3

• Azuran

  Originally posted by dirtyash: Yeah, if I was samsung I would be totally raising prices on everything apple needed from me. Their probably stuck in a contract in which they can't raise the price though. That would be illegal.
  

  17.7.2011 02:15 #4

• xtago

  I'm waiting for the news of Samsung buys out TSMC.
  
  Be funny, that would screw Apple.
  
  Azuran: why would it be illegal? it depends on what the contract was.

  17.7.2011 08:40 #5

• dali

  What's illegal or not is decided at court. There is Law, and there are the kind attorneys to interpret it.
  
  I agree with ya, xtago, that'd be so funny. :)
  

  “You know, it seems that quotes on the internet are becoming less and less reliable.” -Abraham Lincoln.

  17.7.2011 09:56 #6

• Azuran

  In the US anyways there are fair competition laws. Since they are both in the same business of selling phones Samsung inflating their price to limit apple's ability to compete is unethical and very very illegal. This is really business law 101.
  

  17.7.2011 13:44 #7