Like two school children, Samsung and Apple fall out every so often, have a scuffle in court, and then try and make up again. Try as they might to shake Samsung apart, Apple just can’t do it. The truth is that they both need each other. Samsung gains major income manufacturing for Apple. In turn, Apple needs the best in its hardware, and that is made by Samsung.
In 2012, 80% of the revenue Samsung made from manufacturing chips came from Apple. Since this time, Apple has tried to move as much of its manufacturing away from Samsung, but it just can’t do without it. While Apple can’t move totally away from Samsung yet, they are making attempts to move in this direction by signing a three year deal with TSMC to produce microchips for the upcoming iPhone 6.
Breaking Up
Apple also moved its manufacturing line for iPhone RAM to SK Hynix and Elpida Memory for the iPhone 5s and 5c. With neither managing to maintain the production needed, Apple again must rely on Samsung to supply memory for upcoming handsets. Reports have described both manufacturers as “reluctant” to increase production as income from Apple has been “less than desired.”
Apple may have to reply on Samsung further as a report from Reuters has shown that TSMC cannot maintain the level of production Apple requires. Meaning that by the summer of 2015 they may be resting on Samsung production entirely to produce the A9 14- nanometer chip.
Making Up
With Apple and Samsung dropping much of the legal cases against each other, this may be a time they can get back to working together again. Clearly no one else can maintain the production Apple requires. As Samsung’s revenue from hardware slows it may be time to start inking those huge manufacturing deals once again.
After the inclusion of several third-party inclusions into iOS 8, are we seeing an Apple with a different outlook to business? There is no doubt that such things as third-party keyboards and deals with Samsung would be different in Jobs’ Apple. However, the Apple that Jobs made is far from the Apple he sat atop at his death.
Apple lives and breathes quality, and if that means sucking up a bit of pride and shaking hands with the best manufacturer for the job it shouldn’t matter who it is. We just can’t wait for the iPhone 6 any longer!
Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
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