Apple's relationship with Samsung has gone sour and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has emerged as the eventual winner amid the mud-slinging rivalry of the two technology companies. TSMC has sealed a deal with Apple to supply the processing chips for the latter's iOS devices.
Starting 2014, TSMC chips will power the iPhone and iPad as Apple slowly lessens its dependence on Samsung as a parts supplier.
According to a report on the Wall Street Journal, a reliable source confirmed that an agreement was reached between Apple and TSMC. However, Samsung-made processors will still power the new versions of the iPad and iPhone that are expected to roll out this fall.
Apple has been dependent on Samsung for microchips of iOS devices and screens for its iPads. Samsung makes some of the important components that Apple needs and that is a reality it has to deal with. Sealing a deal with another company will be quite tedious given it has been collaborating with Samsung for more than 25 years.
As the transition happens, there are reports saying that TSMC will make use of 20 nanometer and 28nm technologies when it starts the production of chips for Apple, making the processors smaller and more power efficient compared to the 32nm process used by Samsung.
Aside from microprocessors, Apple has also lessened its dependence on Samsung for screens for its devices since 2010. The iPhone and iPad manufacturer has turned to Toshiba and Sharp for its display components.
As Apple and Samsung continue the patent wars in courts around the globe, TSMC expands its clientele. The Taiwanese company is considered as the biggest contract manufacturer of processors in the world. According to Bloomberg, the company gets $7 for each smartphone that hits the market.
The deal with Apple will account for eight percent of the total revenue of TSMC in 2014 and may eventually go up to 15 percent by 2015 depending on the volume of order Apple places, Wall Street Journal reported.
On the other hand, Samsung will most likely court other microprocessor manufacturers such as Qualcomm and boost the production of chips for its own devices to fill the gap left by Apple.
The estrangement between Apple and Samsung is inevitable since the two companies have become the archrivals in the mobile-device industry that was valued at $346 billion in 2012.
