Apple (AAPL) has reportedly cut back its component orders from parts supplier Samsung (005930) for its next-generation iPhone 5, according to multiple news organizations. Citing its own unnamed sources as well as an earlier report from The Korea Economic Daily, Reuters on Thursday evening claimed Apple has reduced orders for Samsung-sourced memory chips and increased orders from rival suppliers including Toshiba, Elpida Memory and SK Hynix.
“Samsung is still in the list of initial memory chip suppliers (for new iPhones),” an anonymous source told Reuters. “But Apple orders have been trending down and Samsung is making up for the reduced order from others, notably Samsung’s handset business.”
Apple and Samsung are at odds over patents in dozens of cases around the world, and Apple recently scored a $1.05 billion victory when a jury in a U.S. District Court found that several Samsung smartphone infringe on various combinations of six Apple patents.
The Cupertino, California-based company is currently Samsung’s largest client for its components business; the deal was previously estimated to bring Samsung $13 billion in revenue in 2013.
