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Apple Set to Shift From Samsung to TSMC for 'A6' Chip Production Next Year?

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MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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30,847



tsmc-150x117.jpg
Back in March, a report suggested that Apple was preparing to shift production of its A5 system-on-a-chip for the iPad 2 from Samsung to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), a deal that was claimed to span multiple generations of chips and would reduce Apple's reliance on competitor and legal foe Samsung for iOS device components. Early examinations of iPad 2 chips did, however, reveal that Samsung continued to be Apple's supplier for the brains of the popular tablet device.

Talk of TSMC striking a deal with Apple revived late last week, with Merrill Lynch analyst Dan Heyler claiming that the chip manufacturer stands a good chance of winning orders for Apple's next-generation "A6" chip next year. And today Ars Technica weighs in, sharing word from a "plugged-in source" that chatter about an Apple-TSMC deal is "growing deafening".
While Apple continues to source components from Samsung for its mobile devices under contracts that were likely signed more than a year ago, Apple presented a huge pile of evidence that Samsung was attempting to copy at least some of the secret sauce that made its iPhone and iPad so successful. So Apple very likely sees moving production to a non-competitor as a strategic business move.

Dan Heyler, a semiconductor analyst with Merrill Lynch in Taipei, told the China-based Commercial Times newspaper on Friday that TSMC will most likely be producing "A6" processors for Apple, a next-generation ARM-based design, in 2012. That jibes with what Ars has heard from a plugged-in source -- that the chatter on the foundry grapevine about an impending Apple/TSMC deal is growing deafening.
Click to expand...
Apple has surpassed Sony to become Samsung's biggest customer, making for an uneasy relationship that has seen Apple and Samsung have a strong reliance on each other even as Apple has been pursuing legal action against Samsung, claiming that Samsung has copied Apple's designs with its own products.

Article Link: Apple Set to Shift From Samsung to TSMC for 'A6' Chip Production Next Year?
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/06/27/apple-set-to-shift-from-samsung-to-tsmc-for-a6-chip-production-next-year/
ArtOfWarfare

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,560
6,059
How's Samsung's stock doing on those news, or is the company not public? (Am I even using the right terms? IDK, I don't invest in stocks at all.)
 
FriarNurgle

FriarNurgle

macrumors regular
Jan 2, 2011
233
0
That's a huge shift in stock allocation. Amazing these companies can handle these fluctuation.
 
NebulaClash

NebulaClash

macrumors 68000
Feb 4, 2010
1,810
0
MacRumors said:
Apple has surpassed Sony to become Samsung's biggest customer, making for an uneasy relationship that has seen Apple and Samsung have a strong reliance on each other even as Apple has been pursuing legal action against Samsung, claiming that Samsung has copied Apple's designs with its own products.
Click to expand...

Nothing uneasy about it. I think one of the biggest misconceptions people have about the law is that it is personal. It's not. We get upset when we hear about these lawsuits and we assume the companies involved are as upset as we are. They're not. This is just how business is done in today's world. It's a shame, but it's the way it is.

So while it would be nice to not have to deal with the legal expenses that come with this way of doing business, I have little doubt that Samsung and Apple get along just fine. Their legal teams are busy arguing against each other in court, but even they probably share a beer afterward. Meanwhile the executives are quite busy making deals with each other.
 
macduke

macduke

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,141
19,677
Samsung was in a win-win situation. But now with losing Apple as a customer, along with the fact that Android sales are starting to level off due to Apple expanding onto new carriers like Verizon and staying competitive with innovations such as free iCloud services, they are soon going to start feeling the hurt. Especially if they end up having to actually make their own phone designs following the court ruling, lol.

But they will still have their TV market, am I right?
 
U

ucantgetridofme

macrumors 6502
Jun 24, 2011
374
0
Quote:



Suck it

Steve
Sent from my A6-powered iPad 3

Reply


Don't let the door hit ya in the ass

CEO & Vice chairman of Samsung yoon woo lee
Sent from my Exynos powered SG3

Samsung was in a win-win situation. But now with losing Apple as a customer, along with the fact that Android sales are starting to level off due to Apple expanding onto new carriers like Verizon and staying competitive with innovations such as free iCloud services, they are soon going to start feeling the hurt. Especially if they end up having to actually make their own phone designs following the court ruling, lol.
Android is still the fastest growing OS by far and Iphone on Verizon has been an embarrasment for everyone involved so far, but lets not let facts get in the way of your delusional Apple worship.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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*LTD*

*LTD*

macrumors G4
Feb 5, 2009
10,703
1
Canada
I'd love to witness the "exchange of words" between the management of the semiconductor division and the mobile phone division behind closed doors.

Losing your biggest customer is not cool at all.
 
M

MyAccount

macrumors newbie
Feb 13, 2010
21
0
New York City
Striking a deal with Intel, who is supposedly willing, would've been better. TSMC is great (they manufacture AMD Radeon graphics cards) but not much different from Samsung.
 
cmaier

cmaier

Suspended
Jul 25, 2007
25,405
33,471
California
MyAccount said:
Striking a deal with Intel, who is supposedly willing, would've been better. TSMC is great (they manufacture AMD Radeon graphics cards) but not much different from Samsung.
Click to expand...

Intel's processed is optimized for higher speed parts. Using them would be a mistake. From experience, I can tell you that a
company that sells its own parts and allows others to use its fab is going to optimize things for its own use, and is going to prioritize its own parts.
 
AppleScruff1

AppleScruff1

macrumors G4
Feb 10, 2011
10,026
2,949
macduke said:
Samsung was in a win-win situation. But now with losing Apple as a customer, along with the fact that Android sales are starting to level off due to Apple expanding onto new carriers like Verizon and staying competitive with innovations such as free iCloud services, they are soon going to start feeling the hurt. Especially if they end up having to actually make their own phone designs following the court ruling, lol.

But they will still have their TV market, am I right?
Click to expand...

When did Android phone sales level off?
 
D

dethmaShine

macrumors 68000
Apr 13, 2010
1,697
0
Into the lungs of Hell
ucantgetridofme said:
Quote:



Suck it

Steve
Sent from my A6-powered iPad 3

Reply


Don't let the door hit ya in the ass

CEO & Vice chairman of Samsung yoon woo lee
Sent from my Exynos powered SG3

Samsung was in a win-win situation. But now with losing Apple as a customer, along with the fact that Android sales are starting to level off due to Apple expanding onto new carriers like Verizon and staying competitive with innovations such as free iCloud services, they are soon going to start feeling the hurt. Especially if they end up having to actually make their own phone designs following the court ruling, lol.
Click to expand...

Android is still the fastest growing OS by far and Iphone on Verizon has been an embarrasment for everyone involved so far, but lets not let facts get in the way of your delusional Apple worship.
Click to expand...

New to forums? Please use the quote tag properly and then misguide people with false facts.

Regards

deth
 
B

bryanl

macrumors member
May 11, 2008
41
4
One thing that isn't often mentioned is that Apple's chips A4/A5 aren't that much different than other ARM based chips in the same generation. They just have a cooler name. We have to remember than when the A6 is released, there will be multiple other ARM chips with roughly the same capabilities being produced by Nvidia, TI, Samsung, and Qualcomm.

Sitting back on the sidelines, this whole saga is pretty entertaining. Huge corps with huge cash reserves are battling it out, while we get excited and impassioned. Little do we understand is fact that is what is going on is most likely par for the course. No wonder these businesses have so many lawyers. This just gives them something to do all day.
 
J

Jcoz

macrumors 6502
Mar 25, 2008
349
0
ucantgetridofme said:
Android is still the fastest growing OS by far and Iphone on Verizon has been an embarrasment for everyone involved so far, but lets not let facts get in the way of your delusional Apple worship.
Click to expand...

An embarrasment? Android lost market share in the US for the first time in 2 years in part because of the iPhone on Verizon......with a year-old phone.

And Android is not actually the fastest growing OS in general...they are still the fastest growing mobile PHONE OS....but iOS goes on more than just smartphones.

Pretty sure iOS devices are still quite a bit higher in number than Android devices....last I saw to the tune of about 2:1.
 
T

Thunderhawks

Suspended
Feb 17, 2009
4,057
2,118
"that Samsung was attempting to copy at least some of the secret sauce that made its iPhone and iPad so successful"

Watch out Apple, you and Samsung may be sued by McDonalds for using that "Secret Sauce"!
 
KnightWRX

KnightWRX

macrumors Pentium
Jan 28, 2009
15,046
4
Quebec, Canada
bryanl said:
Sitting back on the sidelines, this whole saga is pretty entertaining. Huge corps with huge cash reserves are battling it out, while we get excited and impassioned. Little do we understand is fact that is what is going on is most likely par for the course. No wonder these businesses have so many lawyers. This just gives them something to do all day.
Click to expand...

These lawsuits are actually part of negotiation tactics for contract renewals usually.

derek1984 said:
A6 will bring retina in the iPad for 2012.
Click to expand...

What does a processor have to do with a pixel density at a given viewing distance ?
 
R

RonWayne

macrumors newbie
Jul 20, 2009
15
0
They're chosing TSMC because that company's logo is clearly superior to Samsung's, right?
 
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