Apple's 'A7' Chip Will Be The First Not Produced By Samsung
April 10, 2013
The iPhone or iPad in your hand may be one of the last of Apple's iOS devices to include a Samsung chip on the inside. The Korea Times reports that Samsung will no longer provide chips for any iOS device, beginning with the A7 processor, which is expected to go online in 2014.
Instead of Samsung, Apple will rely much more on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to provide chips in future devices. This is the same company that is already doing some of the A6X processor work that was previously assigned to Samsung.
The A7 chip is expected to debut in the eighth-generation iPhone. The next iPhone, expected to launch later this year, is likely to use some variation of the existing A6X chip that is currently in the iPad with Retina display. The iPhone 5 has an A6 chip installed.
Samsung is expected to turn to Nvidia to replace business lost to Apple.
This is just the latest in a series of moves in recent months by Apple to move away from Samsung as a business partner. In March, it was reported that Apple would no longer rely on the South Korean company to provide displays on future iOS devices. Late last year, Samsung began raising the price they charge Apple for parts in a move that reflected their changing relationship.
Samsung was once Apple's largest parts provider. In recent years, however, the company has become one of Apple's biggest competitors of consumer electronics.