As the battle for global smartphone supremacy has matured into just a two company battle pitting Apple against Samsung, Cupertino is looking to add more between itself and its archenemy by becoming less dependent on Samsung to build chips like the A7 processor featured in the iPhone 5s.
While Apple can’t totally rid itself of Samsung components just yet, a new report claims that Apple plans to lean on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to handle more of the manufacturing of the A8 processor next year, rather than giving all the work to Samsung.
The Korean daily paper Hankyung claims that TSMC will be responsible for 60 to 70 percent of the manufacturing of the A8 processor, with the rest of the duties going to Samsung, according to industry sources. TSMC has reportedly signed a deal to manufacture Apple’s next A8 processor, but the contract only covers 30 to 40 percent of the total A8 production processes.
Production for the A8 processor is supposed to begin in 2014, according to a deal Apple signed with TSMC back in June, but Apple is likely to be dependent on Samsung for the majority of manufacturing through the rest of the next tear.
Apple has been looking to distance itself from Samsung even though the company produces many of the components Apple uses in its iDevices. Tensions between the two companies have been at an all-time high the past year thanks to a string of legal battles, along with accusations that Samsung continues to rip off Apple products.
Source: Hankyung
Via: The Verge
