Apple’s next-generation iPhone will reportedly include a chip manufactured by its rival Samsung.

According to a Bloomberg report, Samsung is lined up to build the Apple A9 processor chips that will go into the iPhone 6S, rumored to debut this fall.

While Apple has long worked with Samsung in the past to power its smartphones, the iPhone-maker recently turned to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), ending Samsung’s long-running chip partnership with the company last year. Apple’s move away from Samsung was rooted in long-standing legal disputes with the Korean manufacturer over infringing patents and other issues.

According to Gartner data, Apple accounted for 7.6% of the chip industry pie, spending $25.8 billion on processors just last year.

“Samsung Electronics and Apple have topped the semiconductor consumption table for four consecutive years and their decisions have considerable technology and pricing implications for the whole semiconductor industry,” said Masatsune Yamaji, principal research analyst at Gartner, in a statement earlier this year.

“However, while Samsung Electronics kept its position as the No. 1 largest customer of semiconductor chip vendors, its growth rate in 2014 was lower than the global semiconductor market’s growth,” Yamaji said. “Firstly because it struggled in the smartphone market, and secondly because it is withdrawing from some parts of the PC market.”

If the rumors are true, a major order from Apple would be just what it needs to get higher growth back on track.

 

Author: Samantha Murphy Kelly

Source: Mashable