Apple to Samsung is not only an aggressive opponent in the endless series of legal disputes, but also a major customer of processors that the Cupertino-based company uses in its tablets and smartphones. Meanwhile, Apple is trying to reduce its dependence on South Korean giant factories and looking for a new contractor to cope with bulk orders.
Involved in the production chain, TSMC company will have in a year the processor Apple A6, likely to be the latest product created by Apple in collaboration with Samsung. However, even the A6 development was conducted exclusively by Apple engineers and, in this case, Samsung acts only as a contract manufacturer.
Production of next-generation processors Apple will have to engage TSMC, offering more attractive price. Samsung can also start producing chips for Qualcomm and NVIDIA, also in desperate need of a new contractor.