Samsung reportedly scores Apple’s chip business back, 7nm A12 processor in tow
The glory days for the TSMC chip foundry may be over soon, if a new report out of Korea is to be believed. TSMC became the sole supplier of Apple's A-series processors in 2013, and never looked back. This year, it has been tasked with producing the 10nm Apple A11 chipsets, and the expected upgrade super cycle brought on by the iPhone 8, has shot the TSMC shares into the stratosphere, making its founder a billionaire in the process.
That sweet deal with Apple may be coming to an end, a Korean publication tips, as Samsung has eventually won back Apple's chip business. The deal reportedly came through when Kwon Oh-hyun, Samsung's VP for the LSI chip and memory division, visited Apple headquarters to talk details back in June. Since then, Samsung has allegedly ordered extreme ultra violet lithography machines, which are the latest and greatest equipment in chipset making, and these are said to be put aside solely for making 7nm processors for the iPhones that will land in 2018 with Apple A12 processors inside.
Since next year's crop is expected to be made entirely with OLED displays, Samsung has reportedly managed to convince Apple that there are synergies and savings to be made if it, as the world's largest OLED panel and chip maker, is tasked with producing both elements for the future iPhones that Apple is envisioning. Samsung already listed the most profitable quarter in its history, buoyed mainly by the display, chip and memory divisions, so we can only imagine what its quarters will look like if it manages to win both Apple's display and processor orders for the next iPhones.
source: The Investor
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