Apple reportedly switches battery suppliers away from Samsung

“Apple has reportedly changed its battery suppliers for the iPad and MacBook lines to Amperex Technology Limited and Tianjin Lishen Battery, both Chinese firms, after Samsung SDI (Samsung’s battery-producing subsidiary) stopped supplying Apple, the China Business News reports,” Darrell Etherington reports for TechCrunch. “If accurate, this would be just the latest in a series of rifts between the two companies.”

Etherington reports, “This battery supplier report is just the latest in a series of indicators that the relationship between the two could be undergoing a slow but inevitable shift, but don’t expect to see Apple and Samsung walk away from each other entirely for quite a while yet.”

Read more in the full article here.

43 Comments

  1. Apple will get paid back. Eye is eye. They smiled first but will cry later. The problem is that apple works with companies which financially bad or about to bankrupt. For short term, it will be ok. But for long term, apple won’t find company like Samsung as supplier. It’s too bad that they can’t realize itself.

        1. It seems to me that is pasted from an earlier comment. Word for word. lol. There is point though, Samsung not financially bad, steady supplier, large. Safe supplier. But in long term, they bite hand that feed. It’s too bad that they can’t realize itself.

      1. View it as an opportunity to recruit/challenge U.S. companies to compete for better battery tech…

        But as Lawrence points out correctly… they could produce the parts themselves(or the tech behind it) and have it to themselves.

    1. Edward. You need a better Korean-English translator. Let help on your comment.

      “I work for Samsung and we all hate Apple. We also hate being caught stealing from Apple “.

    2. Apple has enough cash to build a Samsung from the ground up if they wanted to. That’s not the way they’ll do it, but they could.

      If I were one of Samsung’s other customers right now, I’d be finding another supplier.

      How can you trust a company that blatantly rips off their customer’s IP, withholds industry standard FRAND-promised patents from them, then complains in public and fights in court when they are challenged on it.

    3. The companies Apple chose maybe near bankrupt, i’m not saying they are. But Apples business can save them from any financial woes they may be having. It says at lot about Samsung if Apple is willing to trust Chinese companies over Samsung. 삼성 개쓰레기야!! ㅋㅋㅋ

  2. This article is at least partially made-up

    From very beginning Apple manufacturers its own batteries for iPad (and, more recently, for iPad mini) in its only manufacturing subsidiary — in Japan (Apple Japan; and its head for this reason is the only from international Apple offices that directly sits among vice presidents at Apple meetings).

    1. I think it is interesting, DeRS, that you are the only one on this forum (well, and me) who know that Apple does its own batteries, or at least its own battery chemistry. This is something that Steve Jobs himself disclosed in October 2010 during his now famous commentary on 7-inch tablets. It is possible that the Japanese subsidiary does mostly R&D and that fabrication is left to contract suppliers – basically the same manufacturing model as the AX chips.

      1. Not the chemistry; it is provided by a Japanese chemical industry company. From this chemistry Apple’s own manufacturing does the batteries, which later go to China for packaging and assembly into iPads.

        But you are right, Apple more often designs batteries, rather than manufactures them. This is the case with Macbooks (Pro).

        And for iPhones the batteries are so small and simple that those are designed and manufactured by Sony; no sense for Apple to do anything here.

  3. “environmental certification program for electronics, called EPEAT.”

    Not in the case of Samsung, it stands for ‘electronics pirated extensively by a$$hole thugs…’

  4. Good for Apple. They need to stop doing business with Samsung regardless. They are only feeding them and making them stronger.
    Regardless of the difficulties, this will hurt Samsung a lot more than Apple.

  5. Unfortunately there are very, very few companies that can meet Apple’s quality, expertise and capacity requirements. I suppose that is the reason Samsung for now still may produce for Apple.

    1. There are also NO companies that buy as consistently and at the scale that Apple does.

      But the question is who holds the greater power? The components maker or the company with the relationship to the customer.

      That’s what the battle between Samsung and Apple is about. Samsung wants those relationships ( because it more profitable).

      1. Samsung has turned itself into quite a power and it’s an amazing story how this once small Korean firm turned huge and ate Japan’s lunch, but Apple’s business can turn other companies into the correct portions of Samsung that they need, or so I imagine.

  6. expecting Apple to cut all ties with a crooked company like Samsung
    ASAP with no regrets whatsoever , if they can supply good quality
    parts, for sure there are more better companies that can even supply better parts than Samsung.

  7. I am about to purchase a new TV to replace my 10 year old 36 inch SonyXBR. I was considering a Samsung until we all found out they were bigger thieves than even Microsoft. Now I will buy another Sony, LG or whatever, but it won’t be a Samsung.

    1. Sharp makes really nice TVs LED And LCD.

      Samsung has nice tv but they have serious quality issues. I have gone through 3 tv’s in the last 5 years. All Samsung. It seems like around the 2 year time frame stuff starts failing.

    2. Over the last 30 years, I have purchased four (4) televisions – all Sony. I have never taken one of them to the shop, nor have I had any significant problems. I still have two of them, one of which is the first one I bought way back when. It still works perfectly. I’ve had mixed results with other Sony products, but their televisions have never let me down.

  8. If i was Tom cook I would buy up a couple of cutting edge battery technology companies so that apple can make the best bstteries inthe world

    The they can sell them in the billions to every other company apart from shamedung.

  9. It’s à war! Samsung to me looks likeits run by petulant, ruthless directors that will stop at nothing to literally harm competitors. And most people are slugs that hate those more successful than themselves. I think Apple should start an association that slams patent thieves and trashes Samsung’s executives without naming names. Shame them into submission.

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