Samsung will no longer take the exclusive title for the development of A-series chipsets for rival Apple as the Cupertino tech giant has signed on TSMC to manufacture the same.
Apple Samsung partnership on the development of A-series chipsets used in iPhone smartphones may survive after all. The latest report from ZDNet Korea says Samsung will continue to manufacture the next generation A8 chips for Apple, but it won't be the only one. Apple has reportedly signed a partnership deal with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, TSMC, to produce its new A-series chips.
Several reports last June reported an imminent parting of Apple and Samsung after Apple's newly found chip manufacturer came into the picture. But these reports were negated after The Korea Economic Daily in July said Apple and Samsung had signed a fresh agreement for supplying iPhone chips, which was later confirmed in October, last year.
The latest report suggests Apple will split the chip development between Samsung and TSMC. This move shows how Apple is trying to reduce its reliance for parts on a company that is its biggest rival in the mobile business. After all, Apple has been suing Samsung in different countries for patent infringements.
According to an earlier report, Mac Rumors says that Samsung was running short of Apple's demand for the A8 processors. As a result, Apple was planning on shifting the production to TSMC. But Monday's report indicate that the business will be divided. A Samsung source revealed that the ""manufacturing issues" were "exaggerated claims."
The new A8 processing chip will succeed the A7 chip used in the iPhone 5S. Apple is reportedly planning to launch the new chipset, which is expected to feature a quad-core 64-bit ARM processor against dual-core CPU in the A7 for the next iteration of the popular iPhone lineup. The iPhone 6, which is rumored to arrive in multiple sizes with some of the biggest changes in the history of Apple, will likely be powered by the upcoming chip.
According to the report, Samsung is currently testing the new chip and will begin mass production of the A8 in the second quarter of this year, along with TSMC. Apple is reportedly planning to launch the much-talked-about iPhone 6 in the third quarter of 2014.
