Samsung Reportedly Drops Out of Apple's A8 Chip Production Over Low Yields

[wizard]

Closely followed by Samsung-sluts to retaliate with spin.

If you believe this article, TSMC is doing better than Samsung.

Rumors in the industry support the idea that TSMC is doing very very well with 20nm and 14 nm. People shouldn't judge the company on issues they may of had with one process, the reality is TSMC runs many processes, problems are bound to crop up form time to time.

Besides one of the digs against TSMC is the quality of the GPU's that ship from Nvidia and AMD. TSMC shouldn't be blamed for bad design and running the chips to damn hot. If you are wondering why Apple ships the Mac Pro with the GPU's running slightly slower, it probably has a lot to do with trying to achieve acceptable reliability.

 

[roadbloc]

Apple will move away from Samsung sooner or later.

This is Samsung moving away from Apple. No doubt so they can focus on manufacturing tech for their own handsets. Which have apparently been selling very well.

 

[Karma*Police]

If you think that iOS7 looks like Android, you should go for an eye test. Android is the most bland, boring, and uninspired UI, period.

Yeah, I'm not sure how people confuse a dark and heavy UI with a light and airy one. And don't even get me started on the hideousness of Android's system font, Roboto. Google, like Microsoft, was too cheap to just license Helvetica and created a bastardized version of it, making the entire OS look like crap. It's a good thing you can change themes on Android.

 

[Gudi]

As a general response to many of the other posts: Samsung and Apple are corporations, not sentient beings, not football clubs, not artists or musicians or poets, writers, movie directors or actors.

They are rivals, competitors, sworn enemies to death. Suing each other in an epic copyright lawsuit in fight over control of the most profitable, fastest growing, largest segment in all of consumer electronics. No, they are not just two musicians releasing their rap albums in the same damn week. This is serious beef, yo.

 

[giantfan1224]

This is Samsung moving away from Apple. No doubt so they can focus on manufacturing tech for their own handsets. Which have apparently been selling very well.

They're willing to walk away from billions of dollars in sales on chips that will be used in millions upon millions of iPhones and iPads?

 

[Dave.UK]

If you think that iOS7 looks like Android, you should go for an eye test. Android is the most bland, boring, and uninspired UI, period.

Yeah, cant beat that ios grid of icons.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

the Chinese article article itself said the reporting was based on speculation and rumors. Samsung semiconductor is a very profitable division within Samsung electronics. i would think the easier solution to "penalization" would be to apply credits to subsequent manufacturing volumes.

Quite possible, but this is a journalism-related "thing." Even a rumor site ought to show some consistency between headline and body copy. If the Chinese article said that it's unknown whether Apple dropped, or Samsung dropped, then that's what ought to be said. A two-word change fixes it, "Samsung Reportedly Out For Apple's A8 Chip Production Over Low Yields." If the original source unambiguously names the party that did the dropping, then that's the story, "So-and-so said that X happened." Reporting it one way in the headline and another in the body of the story is simply unnecessary ambiguity - a headline-skimmer gets one version, someone who reads the whole thing, the opposite.

 

[roadbloc]

They're willing to walk away from billions of dollars in sales on chips that will be used in millions upon millions of iPhones and iPads?

Have you read the article? It was over low yields. Obviously Samsung don't see much gain for them in manufacturing A8 chips for Apple.

 

[TWSS37]

Yeah, I'm not sure how people confuse a dark and heavy UI with a light and airy one. And don't even get me started on the hideousness of Android's system font, Roboto. Google, like Microsoft, was too cheap to just license Helvetica and created a bastardized version of it, making the entire OS look like crap. It's a good thing you can change themes on Android.

While you are certainly entitled to your opinion, keep in mind 4.4 went with a 'lighter' theme of whites and lighter shade greys through the UI; darker was more of the black on black with blue with 4.0-4.3. Much of the dark also was due to how hardware that ran Android worked with dark colors, it (supposedly) increased battery life.

Roboto, on the other hand, I couldn't disagree with you more. I think it is a sharp, crisp font that works quite well.

 

[giantfan1224]

Have you read the article? It was over low yields. Obviously Samsung don't see much gain for them in manufacturing A8 chips for Apple.

Yes, I read the article. No where does it support your argument that it was Samsung voluntarily moving away from Apple. In fact, it appears it's Apple who has dropped Samsung as a supplier of the A8 chip.

 

[nia820]

Let's hope this doesn't turn out like the retina screens lg was producing. Bash sammy all you want. They make quality parts.

 

[gto55]

A8...
Is AMD going to sue ?

 

[samcraig]

When that happens, Samsung will no longer have the advantage over other Android makers on knowing what Apple is going to make.

Oh really? What advantage. Because they are fabricating a chip? You realize most of the lawsuits involve trade dress and not technical patents?

Samsung doesn't have any more idea what the new iPhone or iPad will look like than you or I. And by the time they do, they don't need to use inside information - they can go out an buy one.

 

[derek4484]

However you are foolish to believe that Samsung would let the billions of $$$$$ Apple supplies slip away on purpose. In fact I could see heads rolling at Samsung if this is true. Apple at one time was more than 80% of Samsungs foundry business.

Beyond that I have this feeling that Apple will likely be leveraging older process technologies to keep the older "A" series chips in production. This simply to leverage development costs and to spread out risk. As such we could see an A7 upgrade to the Touch which would be just one example of this in practice.

----------



Actually that sounds nothing at all like that. Take it at face value, Samsung couldn't meet demand requirements. It does no good to read into reporting something that was never said.

----------



The logo is almost a perfect fit for the company. It isn't an attempt at a graphics art display of excessive talent.

I seriously doubt Samsung's portion of A8 production would've amounted to gross revenue in the "billions" as you state. They were "only" going to provide 30% of the supply of A8's. How much does one of these chips cost Apple? $20 or so? The entire hardware build for the iphone 5S is about $225.

So, if you do a little math (and assume $20 per cpu) it would take 50,000,000 cpus to even amount to $1 Billion in gross revenue for Samsung. that 30% would mean Apple would need to sell 166,666,667 devices with the A8 chip in it for Samsung to sell 50,000,000 CPUs to Apple. Samsung's profit margin on $1 Billion in gross revenue is probably "only" about $50 million. So, for them, its probably not that big of a deal. For the amount of hassle and having to produce product for your #1 most hated rival, its probably better for them to just drop out under the guise of "poor yields". Keeps future options open.

 

[BaldiMac]

While you are certainly entitled to your opinion, keep in mind 4.4 went with a 'lighter' theme of whites and lighter shade greys through the UI; darker was more of the black on black with blue with 4.0-4.3. Much of the dark also was due to how hardware that ran Android worked with dark colors, it (supposedly) increased battery life.

KitKat was released after iOS 7.

 

[AppleScruff1]

KitKat was released after iOS 7.

Myabe this is an example of the reverse Samsung-Apple logic. Samsung releases smart watch so they copied Apple even though Apple doesn't sell a smart watch. Apple releases iOS 7 before KitKat is released, so Apple copied Google even though Apple was first. What do you think?

 

[giantfan1224]

I seriously doubt Samsung's portion of A8 production would've amounted to gross revenue in the "billions" as you state. They were "only" going to provide 30% of the supply of A8's. How much does one of these chips cost Apple? $20 or so? The entire hardware build for the iphone 5S is about $225.

So, if you do a little math (and assume $20 per cpu) it would take 50,000,000 cpus to even amount to $1 Billion in gross revenue for Samsung. that 30% would mean Apple would need to sell 166,666,667 devices with the A8 chip in it for Samsung to sell 50,000,000 CPUs to Apple. Samsung's profit margin on $1 Billion in gross revenue is probably "only" about $50 million. So, for them, its probably not that big of a deal. For the amount of hassle and having to produce product for your #1 most hated rival, its probably better for them to just drop out under the guise of "poor yields". Keeps future options open.

Apple sold 221 million iPhones + iPads in 2013. It would be astounding to walk away from 1.3+ billion in revenue. But if that's their strategy, to try and beat Apple, more power to them. That's a heck of a gamble though.

 

[TWSS37]

KitKat was released after iOS 7.

So? I don't understand your point. That Android copied Apple? I was merely responding to the UI comment.

 

[pmz]

What if I told you that, currently, Apple copies more than others?

It's Apple that should be afraid of not knowing what Samsung and Google are going to do.

Have you seen iOS 7? I'd count how many parts of that OS is a copy of Android, but it'd be a waste of my time.

IF you told me that...you'd be wrong.

The fact that you think iOS 7 is somehow copied from Android shows just how little you know about Android, or iOS 7.

But yea...keep on believing.

----------

Have you read the article? It was over low yields. Obviously Samsung don't see much gain for them in manufacturing A8 chips for Apple....

...because they can't do it.

 

[BaldiMac]

So? I don't understand your point. That Android copied Apple?

Not at all.

I was merely responding to the UI comment.

The comment that you were responding to was a reply to the claim that Apple copied Android's UI with iOS 7. They simply pointed out the the dark UI of Android prior to iOS 7's release was not very similar to the light look of iOS 7.

Your comment about KitKat seemed confusingly irrelevant to me.

 

[macs4nw]

…..Apple may rely on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) for the entirety of its A8 processor production in 2014, claims a report from TechNews Taiwan [Google Translate] (via G 4 Games).

Article Link: Samsung Reportedly Drops Out of Apple's A8 Chip Production Over Low Yields

Regardless of who they're dropping, relying on a single manufacturer for a vital component of a multimillion device production run, has the potential for problems down the line. All we have to do is think of the 2011 floods in Thailand, and what they did to the supply of HDDs. There aren't many foundries capable of producing these newer chips in large quantities, and it would seem prudent for Apple to keep their options open, but I'm sure they realize that.

Perhaps there's more to this story. Maybe Samsung isn't interested in supplying these chips, and this could be part of their 'strategy'…..? Seems hard to believe they're not capable of better 20nm yields, while TSMC is.

It's likely that >9 billion dollars Fab investment TSMC reportedly has made, is starting to produce results; music to Apple's ears I'm sure.

 

[gnasher729]

This is Samsung moving away from Apple. No doubt so they can focus on manufacturing tech for their own handsets. Which have apparently been selling very well.

Except at the high end, where sales are stalling.

 

[Mr. Gates]

Android ripped of IOS totally

Nuff said

Image

Image

Aaaaaaaaaaaand

iOS totally ripped off Windows Mobile 6.5

What's your point ?

?

 

[PBUser167]

This still does not make any sense.

A8 processors - No one ever claimed Samsung copied Apple's processors. They use Exynos and Snapdragon. Besides what other processor was going to be built? The A8 is the next processor in Apple's progression.

2GB of RAM - You've got to be kidding. How long have they been using 2GB of RAM?

Screens - This is the funniest of all. They have 1.476 trillion screen sizes with 2.732 billion more ready for release in 2014.

It can be claimed they copied design style from Apple on their earlier products - I completely agree with this by the way. But their current gen of phones are worlds different from Apple's design. With that being said, the original poster's question is still valid. What products can Samsung copy based on components?

Bolded: Whaaa? Samsung doesn't build anything for Apple. Outside of the requested components why would Samsung need or Apple send any other information regarding their products?

Short version: Apple asks for everything in your post. Samsung can copy what?

I never said anything about copying. My response was to the shear value of the information to a competitor. The depth of knowledge that Samsung has into Apple's product roadmap is disturbing.

 

[firewood]

For some reason I think that Samesung will be able to meet demands for themselves at the 20nm process.

Samsung uses Exynos and Snapdragon chips in their mobile devices. Who fabs those?