Apple may need Samsung to 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.