Samsung Rumored to Return to iPhone Chip Production in 2018

[WatchFromAfar]

That's fine, but the soul of the phone is in the design and software. I don't think many care who makes the silicon.

The "soul of the phone" what a bunch of hippie crap. It's a consumer electronic device. Jeez...
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It's not a Samsung processor, it's an Apple processor outsourced manufacturing to Samsung. If that's your definition of a Samsung processor, we'll ok, it's your opinion.

It's a processor designed on a reference from Acorn in the UK, them made by Samsung. If Samsung makes it then yeah i guess that's not an opinion but a fact.

 

[gwhizkids]

I don't personally hate Samsung, but I do find it odd that the Apple's largest and arguably most formidable competitor in the smartphone market is also a large supplier of critical components. I guess stranger things have happened...

 

[kemal]

Narrower interconnects means lower current which means cooler burning Samsung fires. This should be a good thing.

 

[I7guy]

The "soul of the phone" what a bunch of hippie crap. It's a consumer electronic device. Jeez...
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It's a processor designed on a reference from Acorn in the UK, them made by Samsung. If Samsung makes it then yeah i guess that's not an opinion but a fact.

It doesnt matter where the reference design came from; however it didn't come from Samsung. Samsung makes the processor is a fact as much as Samsung didn't design it is a fact and tsmc didn't design one either is a fact.

 

[5105973]

I don't personally hate Samsung, but I do find it odd that the Apple's largest and arguably most formidable competitor in the smartphone market is also a large supplier of critical components. I guess stranger things have happened...

They are separate divisions of Samsung with different interests. The makers of the chips or displays want the best most lucrative contracts and sometimes that's with Apple. Samsung high priced flagship phones just don't sell at nearly the volume iPhones do so they need to be supplying to Apple as well to stay profitable.

It's kind of like how Google has Samsung as a customer for its Android OS even though it now makes its own phones.

 

[Constable Odo]

Seven nanometers is some seriously tiny transistor tech. I suppose Qualcomm has to keep pace with their mobile processors, too. Qualcomm's flagship SD 835 processor uses 10nm tech, so now they'll have to go down even further in another year to keep pace. How cost effective is that for them? If Apple gets any jump at all in mobile processors, it certainly won't last. I don't think Wall Street considers increasingly powerful mobile processors as any type of innovation, so Apple isn't going to get any praise for packing more transistors on a chip. I would think it would be so hard for companies with less money to keep up with Apple but they seem to manage to do so pretty easily. I suppose lots of money can't buy much of a lead in smartphone technology.

 

[citysnaps]

I don't get the hatred for Samsung that Apple fanboys have. Apple has two suppliers for their critical items. Flash memory: Toshiba and Samsung, Screens LG & Samsung: Processor TSMC or Samsung. Get this, your iPhone could be rockin' a Samsung screen, a Samsung processor and running off Samsung memory. Sounds like a Samsung phone to me....

"Sounds like a Samsung phone to me...."

That's the silliest thing I've heard this year.

Samsung is merely a component supplier, one of many that Apple uses, supplying parts at a competitive price. Nothing more. Having multiple vendors that can be played against each other on price and availability greatly benefits Apple.

 

[kdarling]

No, the components are developed by Apple. Samsung just has the tools to be able to create them in the quantity apple requires.

The memory is not developed by Apple; they use off the shelf components from SK Hynix, Toshiba, Samsung.

Unless they specify something unique with TouchId embedded, the displays are not developed by Apple.

The CPU layout and tweaks are proprietary to Apple.

I don't personally hate Samsung, but I do find it odd that the Apple's largest and arguably most formidable competitor in the smartphone market is also a large supplier of critical components. I guess stranger things have happened...

Different divisions, as someone has noted.

Wonder what would happen if Apple were in Samsung's position.

 

[killawat]

A great remind that Samsung Semiconductor is a completely different business unit than Samsung Mobile, both under Samsung Electronics.

Samsung Semiconductor would love to have those Apple dollars and Apple will gladly hand them over for some of the best products in the industry, no need to let Samsung Mobile ruin this relationship unless they appeal to the mothership.

 

[WatchFromAfar]

"Sounds like a Samsung phone to me...."

That's the silliest thing I've heard this year.

Samsung is merely a component supplier, one of many that Apple uses, supplying parts at a competitive price. Nothing more. Having multiple vendors that can be played against each other on price and availability greatly benefits Apple.

"merely a component supplier" , how pray tell does something exist in the physical world without components?

 

[KeanosMagicHat]

They are separate divisions of Samsung with different interests. The makers of the chips or displays want the best most lucrative contracts and sometimes that's with Apple. Samsung high priced flagship phones just don't sell at nearly the volume iPhones do so they need to be supplying to Apple as well to stay profitable.

It's kind of like how Google has Samsung as a customer for its Android OS even though it now makes its own phones.

You're absolutely correct of course, but I'm pretty sure these same divisions will also supply Samsung's mobile/cell phone business.

So what happens if production is severely constrained, who do they prioritise? . . . . it's an interesting position to be in.

 

[Defthand]

Frankly, can anyone name an electronics product (excluding accessories) that was conceived, engineered, patented, manufactured, and assembled solely by the seller? A glance at Apple’s legacy products (Thank You, Mactracker) also reveals that alternate supplier parts were routinely used.

What distinguishes a seller’s product is the config of components and how/if the software exploits the hardware’s potential. More importantly, quality components and mediocre software are less impressive than the inverse.

 

[Skika]

It's not a Samsung processor, it's an Apple processor outsourced manufacturing to Samsung. If that's your definition of a Samsung processor, we'll ok, it's your opinion.

This. Otherwise the iPhone wouldnt be Apple iPhone but Foxcon iPhone

 

[ChrisCW11]

When will Apple learn. Every time Apple tries to pull away from Samsung, they run into quality or production quantity issues, and then they begrudgingly go back to Samsung. I know the love/hate relationship Apple has with Samsung, or rather tolerate/hate, but Apple really needs to get on board and realize that unless they build their own chip foundries, Samsung is going to be a crucial partner as long as iPhone sells like hotcakes so just suck up the arrogance and pride and realize that as long as Apple puts other people's parts into their products they should learn how to behave better with them and stop throwing childish tantrums and run away to do something on their own that never works out in the long run.
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I am just pointing out what is important.

Exotic and luxury car companies use parts from non-exotic/luxury car part manufacturers all the time.

For example, Lotus uses Toyota parts on a few models, including motors like the one in the Toyota Camry. Would you say "sounds like a Toyota car to me"? I guess you could, but I wouldn't.

Well, driving around in a "sports" car with a Camry engine is the point I think the original poster is making very clear.

 

[gnasher729]

I don't get the hatred for Samsung that Apple fanboys have. Apple has two suppliers for their critical items. Flash memory: Toshiba and Samsung, Screens LG & Samsung: Processor TSMC or Samsung. Get this, your iPhone could be rockin' a Samsung screen, a Samsung processor and running off Samsung memory. Sounds like a Samsung phone to me....

Samsung is more than one company. There is Samsung Mobile division, with its history of shameless copying, with evidence of a 130 page notebook what things from iOS need to be copied, and with fiery disasters. And there is Samsung Semiconductor division, who do a decent job at creating hardware components, like creating Apple designed processors, Apple designed screens, and generic memory chips. I bet Samsung Semiconductor finds Samsung Mobile division cringeworthy, just like we do.

 

[I7guy]

When will Apple learn. Every time Apple tries to pull away from Samsung, they run into quality or production quantity issues, and then they begrudgingly go back to Samsung. I know the love/hate relationship Apple has with Samsung, or rather tolerate/hate, but Apple really needs to get on board and realize that unless they build their own chip foundries, Samsung is going to be a crucial partner as long as iPhone sells like hotcakes so just suck up the arrogance and pride and realize that as long as Apple puts other people's parts into their products they should learn how to behave better with them and stop throwing childish tantrums and run away to do something on their own that never works out in the long run.
[doublepost=1500390214][/doublepost]

Well, driving around in a "sports" car with a Camry engine is the point I think the original poster is making very clear.

Seems to me with the last iteration of tmsc vs Samsung, on an ad-hoc basis tsmc chips were deemed to be better.

 

[lazard]

I don't personally hate Samsung, but I do find it odd that the Apple's largest and arguably most formidable competitor in the smartphone market is also a large supplier of critical components. I guess stranger things have happened...

Well considering said competitor is one of the only companies in the world that can provide the quality and quantity of components that Apple needs...not strange at all.

 

[nsayer]

Cue the exploding chip jokes.

 

[WatchFromAfar]

Samsung is more than one company. There is Samsung Mobile division, with its history of shameless copying, with evidence of a 130 page notebook what things from iOS need to be copied, and with fiery disasters. And there is Samsung Semiconductor division, who do a decent job at creating hardware components, like creating Apple designed processors, Apple designed screens, and generic memory chips. I bet Samsung Semiconductor finds Samsung Mobile division cringeworthy, just like we do.

No you don't get it. There is no Apple designed processors, the A-series chip is a RISK based chip designed from a UK company called Acorn in the 80's who manufacturers ARM based preprocessors. Yes Apple took that design, because it's open source, and ran with it but they didn't design it.

 

[loekf]

Do these analyists have any idea ?

So:

2016: A10 made @ TSMC in 16nm
2017 spring: A10X made @ TSMC in 10nm
2017 fall: A11 made @ TSMC in 10nm
2018 spring: A11X made @ Samsung in 7nm ?
2018 fall: A12 made @ Samsung in 7nm ?

Typically Apple uses the iPhone "S" variants or iPad "X" SoCs as a pipecleaner

However, last year we got a iPhone 6S "S" aka iPhone 7 so that's not 100% true anymore.

AFAIK, TSMC is the leading foundry for 5nm and 7nm.. so why switch ? However, Apple could have taped out to both
TSMC and Samsung. 1st tapeout of the A12 should happen soon...

 

[Macs4u]

Sounds like it's mutually beneficial for the two companies to cooperate on this front

I would have thought that if Samsung would have pulled out last minute, this would royally shaft Apple more than Samsung , which has much more diversity with its income

Matt

 

[djcerla]

I don't get the hatred for Samsung that Apple fanboys have. Apple has two suppliers for their critical items. Flash memory: Toshiba and Samsung, Screens LG & Samsung: Processor TSMC or Samsung. Get this, your iPhone could be rockin' a Samsung screen, a Samsung processor and running off Samsung memory. Sounds like a Samsung phone to me....

Hmmm... what Samsung components do you believe are found in the iPhone 7? Guess.

 

[WatchFromAfar]

They are separate divisions of Samsung with different interests. The makers of the chips or displays want the best most lucrative contracts and sometimes that's with Apple. Samsung high priced flagship phones just don't sell at nearly the volume iPhones do so they need to be supplying to Apple as well to stay profitable.

It's kind of like how Google has Samsung as a customer for its Android OS even though it now makes its own phones.

I find that funny that Apple fans (Myself included) can give Samsung a pass on one hand (cause they're a bunch of different companies) but hate them for ripping of the iPhone.
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Hmmm... what Samsung components do you believe are found in the iPhone 7? Guess.

Well there's a theoretical possibility it will be the screen, flash memory and processor.

 

[tooltalk]

At one place I worked, we had a big problem with Samsung 1TB SATA Disks. 30+ of them failed inside 3 months. Took us ages to get resolved. No one would admit 1) there was a problem or 2) Who's fault it was . The company resolved not to buy anything from Samsung again mainly because of the almost total lack of customer support.

I thought Samsung exited the HDD business many years ago and sold it to Seagate.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

No you don't get it. There is no Apple designed processors, the A-series chip is a RISK based chip designed from a UK company called Acorn in the 80's who manufacturers ARM based preprocessors. Yes Apple took that design, because it's open source, and ran with it but they didn't design it.

Acorn_Computers