A new AFP report, which cites a Commercial Times story, says that A8 chip production for the iPhone 6 family of phones has started, with Taiwan’s TSMC being the primary chip maker for the handset. Samsung has apparently been left mostly out of chip production, the report hints, as TSMC has “won most of the manufacturing orders for logic and power management integrated chips for the new handset.”
This isn’t the first time Samsung is said to have been given a smaller and smaller role in Apple’s supply chain, although the parties involved would not confirm it. For a few years now, Apple has been rumored to be working on reducing its reliance on Samsung, its main rival in the smartphone and tablet markets.
“This is another sign Apple has been shifting more orders away from Samsung,” an unidentified analyst told AFP. “But how far Apple may push remains to be seen. It could be up to how much the Samsung-made parts and components could be replaced by those of other suppliers.”
The Commercial Times further speculates that the new iPhone 6 could have a larger 4.7-inch display and that it “would hit the shops early in the third quarter,” much earlier than anticipated. Details about the actual A8 chip have not been revealed.
