Samsung back to making chips for Apple: A9 could power iPhone 7
They may be regular combatants in court over patents the world over, but it looks as though Apple and Samsung are to bury the hatchet for one important piece of business. The Cupertino-based iPhone maker has reportedly recomissioned Samsung to once again manufacture processors for Apple’s iPhone line.
“Samsung Electronics will supply 14 nano A9 chips that will be used for Apple’s iPhone 7,” reads The Korea Economic Daily.
Following the court fall out between the two tech giants, Apple moved their custom to Taiwanese firm TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), who began work on Apple’s signature A-Series chipsets. TSMC are expected to be providing the 20nm-A8 chips that will likely be found in the iPhone 6 handset, following this Autumn’s likely iPhone 5S reveal.
However, the fact that Samsung managed to create a new, superior 14-nm chip ahead of TSMC rival may have helped sway Apple’s decision to once again recruit their rivals.
Interestingly, Apple’s partnership with TSMC was expected to last three years – long after the A8 chips would be expected to be obsolete, suggesting that Apple will in the future source processors from more than one chip manufacturer at a time.
