Despite the lawsuits filed against one another and the fierce competitive nature between both Apple and Samsung, both companies still worked together, with Samsung supplying Apple with quite a bit of hardware components for its various products. One of those components is Apple’s A-series chipsets, although in recent times it seems that TSMC might have taken over.
However in a report from ET News (via AppleInsider), word on the street has it that Samsung could be returning to the fold for 2018’s iPhone and the A12 chipset. Unless Apple changes something, this year’s A11 chipset is expected to continue to be supplied by TSMC, but the report claims that Samsung will be making “supplemental investments” to its 10-nanometer production lines next month, and build out 7-nanometer facilities in 2018 in which Samsung is hoping to get the jump on TSMC.
Some have suggested that Apple might be hesitant to rely on Samsung again given how fiercely both companies are competing against each other, but if the predictions of an iPhone “super cycle” are true, then there is a good chance that Apple might need Samsung to lend a helping hand in order to meet the demand for their iPhones. It is estimated that this super cycle could result in a 20% increase in unit sales.