Competition is heating up between Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to build Apple’s next generation A9 chips, according to a new report citing industry sources.
TSMC is currently manufacturing the majority of the A8 chips used in Apple’s latest iPhones, thanks to a deal inked in 2013. Samsung, however, is keen to reestablish its previous position as the sole provider of Apple’s A-series chips — and is willing to lower its quotes to do so.
Samsung is also pushing the fact that it can provide other services to Apple, including the manufacture of flash memory and backend services in-house.
There’s good reason why Samsung would be so desperate to win Apple orders. Having recently posted dismal Q3 earnings — down a whopping 60% in operating profit from the same period in 2013 — Samsung needs to land a winner. And if there’s one thing Apple has reconfirmed recently, it’s that its iPhone product line is a winner!
TSMC, for its part, has reportedly invested heavily in the necessary equipment to build Apple’s next generation chips, which will be manufactured using 1X FinFET processes.
Apple will reportedly make its mind up by the end of 2014.
