Samsung to Produce Majority of Apple's A9 Chips for Next-Generation iPhone

[MacRumors]

Samsung will be the main supplier of Apple's upcoming A9 chip that will power the next-generation iPhone, reports South Korean newspaper Maeil Business (via Reuters). The newspaper notes that Samsung will supply around 75% of chips for the next iPhone, and that the processors will be produced at the company's factory in Austin, Texas.

Apple's A8 chip​

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Last month, a report from Korea's ET News said that Samsung had begun work on the processor in Texas. Previous reports noted that Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) would be producing the A9 chip, although Samsung was chosen to be the primary supplier in a deal that was said to be worth billions. BusinessKorea reported last month that Apple would be relying more heavily on Samsung for iPhone 6 and Apple Watch components including RAM, NAND flash storage, and batteries.

Apple's A9 chip is expected to power the iPhone 6s and presumably the next-generation iPad Air and iPad mini. Apple is also expected to launch a larger-screened iPad Pro at some point this year, although that device has been rumored to utilize Apple's A8X processor.


Article Link: Samsung to Produce Majority of Apple's A9 Chips for Next-Generation iPhone

 

[redheeler]

Fine by me. Samsung already makes the best displays and SSDs for the Macs.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Business decisions are how these companies roll.

 

[uptempos]

Why cant we all just get along?

 

[bobenhaus]

Fine by me. Samsung already makes the best displays and SSDs for the Macs.

Fine with me as well since Samsung makes the best Arm CPU's as wel.

 

[SockRolid]

... Previous reports noted that Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) would be producing the A9 chip ...

A major benefit of having multiple suppliers?
Two words: "bidding war."

 

[Tanegashima]

Fine with me as well since Samsung makes the best Arm CPU's as wel.

Samsung doesn't even makes CPU's.

Their SOC CPU's are designed by ARM, Samsung just has a license for those cores.

----------

Why cant we all just get along?

Apple gets along with Samsung Electronics fine.

Now Samsung Telecomunications is a competitor, a black sheep in the group.

 

[bobenhaus]

III smartphone
Exynos is a series of ARM-based System-on-Chips (SoCs) developed and manufactured by Samsung Electronics and is a continuation of Samsung's earlier S3C, S5L and S5P line of SoCs.

 

[nia820]

Why don't Samsung and Apple get married already?

I can only dream of the day Samsung and apple make phone together. I know it'll never happened but I can still dream. That phone would rule them all.

 

[-LikesMac-]

Thoughts

Well, I'm not surprised about this. Samsung is still one of the few (if not the only one) that is able to produce such chips on such a large scale. Also, you have to consider that the Samsung that produces chips is not the same division as the Samsung that makes phones. And ultimately, it's all business.

 

[duffman9000]

Fine with me as well since Samsung makes the best Arm CPU's as wel.

I see what you done did. You're right, Samsung does make the best. Too bad for them it's an Apple custom design.

----------

Why don't Samsung and Apple get married already?

I can only dream of the day Samsung and apple make phone together. I know it'll never happened but I can still dream. That phone would rule them all.

I agree. Maybe Samsung could convince Apple it's okay to include more than 1GB of RAM on a phone.

 

[firewood]

Why don't Samsung and Apple get married already?

Why would Apple want to get involved in ship building, the Korean defense industry, resorts, and insurance (all of which are major components of Samsung)?

 

[Santabean2000]

Good news. Samsung produces quality in quantity for Apple. Apple is going to need a lot of chips as the ever increasing wave of iPhone updaters clamber for their next iteration.

My rock solid iPhone 5 shall be passed on at that point. *sniff sniff*

[Seriously, this thing has been bashed and trashed in a 2+ years of solid use + accidents. The home button died twice and then came back to life again! {after being dropped}]

 

[Wuiffi]

So this is Apples version of Intels "Tick Tock"

If you have enough manpower and money to customize the chip for the manufacturer this is probably a really good idea!

 

[CJM]

Hmm, déjà vu. Didn't we have this same piece of news a couple of weeks ago?

 

[Avenged110]

Samsung doesn't even makes CPU's.

Their SOC CPU's are designed by ARM, Samsung just has a license for those cores.

I see what you done did. You're right, Samsung does make the best. Too bad for them it's an Apple custom design.

Put another way, Samsung is excellent at component fabrication, not design.

 

[allanfries]

Bravo, bring it on. One 6s coming my way this fall, for sure!

 

[polterbyte]

Every year Samsung is the seamstress who makes the dress to the smoking hot girl that Apple takes to the prom.

 

[holydude]

Funny how TSMC claimed that they have better yields.

Well they have seen this coming as what they said was not true. Samsung won once again and we are all happy.

 

[AMDeeb]

Fine by me. Samsung already makes the best mobile devices.. No wait!

 

[littyboy]

Fine by me. Samsung already makes the best displays and SSDs for the Macs.

With that being said, I do hope Apple takes on Samsung as their SSD supplier for their macbooks.

 

[mi7chy]

Companies shouldn't do business with patent trolls.

 

[asiga]

Why don't Samsung and Apple get married already?

If today's fanboys knew how these companies work internally, most forums would be closed because of no activity. Apple is no longer a company looking for wise users who appreciate good design. It turned into a new Microsoft when they decided to pursue quantity. So, fanboys, get used to it: Microsoft=Google=Samsung=Apple. No difference between them anymore. Yes, this turns Linux into the almost only really independent player, and yes, Linux is a step backwards if you enjoyed Apple. But these are the times we're living.

 

[thekeyring]

So, fanboys, get used to it: Microsoft=Google=Samsung=Apple. No difference between them anymore.

You are wrong, but I'm not going to list why. If you've blindly landed on that conclusion now, nothing I will say will make a difference.

 

[gnasher729]

Companies shouldn't do business with patent trolls.

That's Ok. Apple only does business with Samsung's semiconductor branch, not with their mobile branch (which was in danger of getting a 13 billion dollar fine in the EU for being a patent troll).