“Despite a raging patent war, Samsung Electronics and Apple maintain and are expected to maintain their relationship as chip supplier and buyer,” Kim Yoo-chul reports for The Korea Times.
“Industry sources say that Apple will continue to use Samsung’s chips and technology for its next smartphone, which may or may not be named the iPhone 5,” Kim reports. “‘Apple has been in talks with Samsung over shipment of its A6 quad-core mobile processor (AP) chips to be used in the next iPhone. It appears that Apple clearly has concluded that Samsung remains a critical business partner,’ an executive from an Apple parts supplier based in Korea said on condition of anonymity. He said that Samsung has been increasing the output of the Apple-designed A6 chips in its manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas.”
Kim reports, “There had been speculation that Apple would shift its chip sourcing channel to Samsung rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC). ‘Samsung Electronics will apply its advanced 28-nanometer processing technology to produce qualified A6 mobile APs. TSMC will provide customized chips with designs from Apple, however, the volume will be very small,’ said the executive.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: A Korea Times report based on a single source identified as “an executive from an Apple parts supplier based in Korea.” Gee, what are the odds that the Korea-based (Korea-owning is more like it) Samsung is placing items into the Korean press for what they think are strategic reasons?
