iPhone 6 A8 Chip Still to be Made by Samsung?
Samsung and Apple have been swinging swords at each other for quite some time already because of alleged patent infringements. Although it was never confirmed, Apple is keeping its distance from Samsung to reduce its reliance on the Korean tech giant. However, it seems that despite Apple's attempt to steer clear out of its production, Samsung is reported to manufacture the A8 chip of the next generation iPhone 6.
Back in October, a report said that Apple is already starting to collaborate with TSMC, a Taiwan based company to shore up its fabrication partner for the A8 chip. As a matter of fact, TSMC signed a 3-year deal to produce and manufacture the said chip.
According to iPhone 6 News Blog, the company that will be responsible for Apple's A8 chip for its next generation flagship smartphone is Taiwan's TSMC. However, according to a another report from Hankyung, a Korean publication, TSMC will only be involved for about 60-70 per cent of A8 chip production and Samsung will still be responsible for the 30-40 per cent remaining.
However, this move from Apple is not really a surprise, as Samsung has been involved with Apple projects since 2011. Furthermore, the rumour about Apple cutting its ties with Samsung has been flooding the Internet for quite some time already. Regardless, although the tech giant from Cupertino planned this as a long-term strategy, it doesn't seem to be a short-term move for the next generation iPhone.
Meanwhile, for the consumer's end, what this means is possibly the change in performance and quality of iPhone and iPad's processing power compared to before. But then again, TSMC has been involved in a couple of iDevices in the past and there had been no widespread reported issues about the quality of its products, especially the chips and processors.
It appears that Apple is becoming more comfortable collaborating with this Taiwanese company. At this point, placing bets on such rumours seem farfetched. Nevertheless, if ever these are true, this is not good news for Samsung, and it would be clear that Samsung is being phased out from Apple's plans.