Samsung can make enough chips for iPhone 6

Samsung can make enough chips for iPhone 6. Apple may have to rely on arch-rival Samsung for a hefty percentage of processors to power the next iPhone.

Samsung has been Apple’s go-to manufacturer for the past several chip generations, most recently producing the A5, the A6, and this year’s A7. Apple has sought to reduce that dependence by reportedly cutting a deal with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to take on production of future A series processors. But Samsung is far from out of the picture, according to a story from The Korea Economic Daily.

Samsung will manufacture 30 to 40 percent of the A8 processors needed by Apple next year, leaving TSMC to kick in the rest, claims the Korean news site. Apple reportedly wanted TSMC as its only A8 supplier. But creating enough quantity of the 20-nanometer chip is a difficult process, forcing Apple to keep working with Samsung.

Apple has been looking to cut ties with Samsung for some time. Given the high demand for the iPhone and iPad, Apple continually needs to reduce its reliance on a single supplier. But Apple’s quest to divorce itself from Samsung is largely due to the legal bad blood between the two companies, say analysts.