Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Apple has said that Samsung’s US factory will make chips for a number of its products, including iPhones.
- It’s unclear if Apple is referring to its A series chips that are the heart and soul of iPhones.
- Samsung has historically produced A series chips for Apple, but it’s been a while since anyone but TSMC manufactured iPhone chips.
- Apple says Samsung’s facility will supply chips that “optimize power and performance of Apple products.”
Apple has announced that none other than Samsung will soon make chips for its products, including iPhones.
Before you start thinking iPhones will soon be powered by Exynos processors, let’s examine what Apple is saying exactly and the history between the two companies as far as manufacturing iPhone components is concerned. As part of its announcement of investing an additional $100 billion in the US over the next four years, Apple said that it will procure chips from Samsung’s Austin factory for a number of its products, including its phones.
“This facility will supply chips that optimize power and performance of Apple products, including iPhone devices,” Apple said in a statement.
While it’s unclear just how big a role these Samsung chips will play in shaping Apple’s A series processors, it’s certainly interesting to see the two tech giants joining hands for crucial iPhone components.
While Samsung currently doesn’t have any role in manufacturing any part of the iPhone’s A series processors — that’s a job for TSMC — the South Korean company has been a long-time supplier of displays, RAM, and memory chips for iPhones.
Samsung also historically manufactured Apple’s A series chips for iPhone, specifically from the A4 chip used on the iPhone 4 through to the A9 chip used in the iPhone 6s. After the A9 chip, however, Apple moved its chip production to TSMC.
It would be a big deal if Samsung once again started making the A series chips for Apple out of the US, but that’s unlikely to happen. Apple is already expected to utilize TSMC’s 3nm process for its A19 and A19 Pro chips, which will power the iPhone 17 lineup.
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