Samsung and Apple have a litigious relationship but yet they still need each other at the end of the day, and it looks like for upcoming iOS devices that will run the A9 chipset, it seems that Samsung will continue to provide the necessary chips for these iOS devices. This is according to a report from Re/code who “confirms” earlier rumors that Samsung will be the main manufacturer of Apple’s A9 chipset.
An earlier rumor had suggested that Samsung will be producing the bulk of the A9 chipset, unlike the A8 in which TSMC was responsible for most of its production. However the report from Re/code confirms that Samsung will be leading the charge as they hold a technological edge over TSMC, mainly thanks to their 14nm manufacturing process.
At the moment TSMC is still at 20nm so going with Samsung, at least until TSMC gets up to speed, seems like the obvious choice at the moment. Unsurprisingly neither Apple nor Samsung have commented on these claims, but this is definitely not the first time we are hearing about these rumors.
It is a contradicting rumor as we had also heard that TSMC would be taking the lead on the A9’s production, but this latest rumors seems to suggest otherwise. However given that Apple has been known to switch back and forth amongst their manufacturers depending on their needs, who’s to say that TSMC won’t take the lead on the A10 (or whatever it will be known as )? Until we hear from Apple or see the teardown, take it with a grain of salt for now.