Apple’s strained relationship with Samsung has apparently taken yet another turn for the worse, this time with Samsung allegedly losing its deal to make chips for Apple’s products. Industry insiders claim Apple has dropped Samsung in favor of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company for the next versions if its custom designed processors, according to DigiTimes.
Apple and Samsung have been locked in a legal battle over patent infringement claims for several months. Both companies have alleged that the other’s mobile devices use patented technologies without proper licensing, and have filed lawsuits against each other in the U.S. and other countries.
Apple cozies up with TSMC for chip manufacturing
Assuming the insider sources are correct, those courtroom fights may have put too much of a strain on the two company’s business relationship.
A German court recently upheld an injunction blocking the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the country. The company filed an appeal earlier this week in hopes of overturning that ruling.
Apple was also awarded a temporary injunction through a Dutch court blocking the sale of some Galaxy devices in the European Union, and Samsung has agreed to postpone sales of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Australia until the end of September.
Should Apple take its chip fabrication to TSMC, the deal will be a big blow to Samsung since earlier this year the company was ramping up to quadruple its chip production to meet Apple’s needs.
Apple, Samsung and TSMC haven’t commented on the report.