Despite Apple’s not so secret desire to move all of its chip production away from Samsung, Bloomberg is reporting that Apple’s A9 processor, likely to be introduced alongside the iPhone 6s, will be manufactured by, you guessed it, Samsung.
Winning this order from Apple will help the world’s second-largest chipmaker rebound against TSMC, which last year ended Samsung’s monopoly over contracts to make iPhone and iPad chips. Both manufacturers have boosted capital expenditures to gain business from Apple and Qualcomm Inc. in the more than $300 billion semiconductor industry.
Indeed, even in the face of Apple’s widely publicized squabbles with Samsung, Apple last year wasn’t able to completely break free from Samsung, even when the bulk of its A8 production was handled by TSMC. Recall that some reports had Samsung still accounting for about 40% of Apple’s total A8 production.
DON’T MISS: Apple’s revolutionary Retina MacBook is about as powerful as a 3-year-old laptop
So while previous reports from late 2014 suggested that TSMC would once again be Apple’s main chip supplier, it stands to reason that Bloomberg’s report is more accurate given that Apple is now at a point where it’s narrowing down its supplier choices and volume requirements.
Aside from the A9 chip that will power Apple’s next-gen iPhones, we’re starting to hear a little bit more about some other noteworthy features Apple may be planning to bring to the table. Most notably, it’s been reported that Apple will bring the same Force Touch feature introduced on the Retina MacBook to its iPhone lineup. If that’s the case, don’t be surprised if only the high-end iPhone 6s Plus gets the Force Touch treatment.
It’s also worth noting that Apple will reportedly launch a revamped 4-inch iPhone 6c model alongside its larger screened brethren. The following leak was spotted earlier in the week.
