Samsung apparently lands contract to produce A9 chips for iPhone 7 in 2015

Apple and Samsung have one of the most checkered relationships in technology, but it appears that at least a part of Samsung and Apple have made nice and reached an agreement. According to The Korea Economic Daily, Samsung has agreed to provide Apple with 14 nm SoCs in 2015.

This comes after Apple signed a deal with another fabrication corporation, TSMC, to provide chips for the future. However, many questioned if TSMC could actually produce chips in the quantity that Apple requires for its high-profile iOS devices.

The future of Apple’s chip production seems to be up in the air. Many seem to think that Apple is interested in purchasing the necessary facilities to fabricate their own designs, though that would require a massive amount of capital. Others think that Apple will continue to design the chips, but have separate entities like Samsung and TSMC actually build them.

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WSJ: Apple signs iOS device chip deal with TSMC, decreasing dependence on Samsung

Following up a scoop from DigiTimes earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal is reporting this afternoon that Apple has finally inked a deal with TSMC, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., to produce chips used in the company’s iPhone and iPad products.

The two sides reportedly signed the deal, which has been in the making for a few years now, earlier this month after TSMC met Apple’s requirements for speed and power usage. And it signifies yet another move by the Cupertino firm to distance itself from Samsung…

Here’s The Journal’s Jessica Lessin:

“As early as 2010, Apple and TSMC started discussing working together to build the chips, say the TSMC executives. In 2011, TSMC senior executive Chiang Shang-yi met Apple officials to discuss collaborating on the complex process. Apple asked to invest in TSMC, or to have TSMC set aside factory space dedicated to Apple chips, the executives say. TSMC Chairman Morris Chang rejected both requests because the company wanted to maintain its independence and manufacturing flexibility, the executives say. TSMC plans to start mass-producing the chips early next year using advanced “20-nanometer” technology, which makes the chips potentially smaller and more energy-efficient.”

The move comes amidst increasing litigation and competition between Apple and Samsung. The two are currently involved in courtroom battles in 10 different countries, and Samsung’s line of Galaxy phones have taken over Android with record-breaking sales figures.

Apple has been slowly moving its orders for numerous components away from the South Korean giant over the past year, including mobile display panels. A report surfaced last November claiming that the iPad-maker had moved a bulk of its panel business to LG Display.

Of course, even with this new TSMC deal, Apple will continue to rely on Samsung for chips as it likes to diversify its suppliers to avoid bottlenecking issues. And it’s unknown when we’ll start seeing the first iOS devices with TSMC chips, but it sounds like it’ll be next year.

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