Rumours of Apple dropping Samsung-made chips re-surface

More reports are emerging that Apple may be further distancing itself from Samsung and possibly even ditching the South Korean company as its chief chip manufacturer.

As usual, the reports are coming from DigiTimes, which is accurate sometimes, others not so much – so do take it with more than your recommended daily allowance of salt.

Said publication cites unnamed sources who claim TSMC will replace Samsung as Apple’s primary hardware manufacturing partner.

The report alleges that the switchover may well happen next year and, if true, it would put a substantial dent in Samsung’s production business with Apple currently being one of its biggest clients.

It’s estimated Apple’s products require the production of as many as 200 million processors per year.

It’s not the first time we’ve heard such rumours though, multiple reports in October claimed such a split was happening, while similar reports also said Apple wouldn’t continue to buy its display tech from Samsung either. This latter claim was subsequently denied by Apple representatives, however.

The report follows news from Marketwatch in mid-November, which claimed Samsung is deliberately overcharging Apple for its processor chips with a 20 per cent mark-up.

While a lack of business with Apple may cause Samsung some problems, it’s possible it can make up the difference with some new big-name clients.

Recent reports indicate that both Microsoft and Amazon may be looking to poach Apple component suppliers for their own expanding hardware portfolios.