Samsung’s dominance in the technology industry’s supply chain has lead to fears by Taiwan-based companies that Samsung may be getting a little too successful for their comfort. As a result, the firms are making moves to counter Samsung, and aligning with each other and major device manufacturers like Apple.
Samsung was even accused by a local magazine of launching an internal “Kill Taiwan” campaign, according to a report from the Associated Press on Wednesday. Samsung has denied those claims, but the rumors have helped spur Taiwanese companies to come together as a counterpunch to Samsung’s market successes.
A noted and longtime Taiwanese collaborator is Apple Inc. Up until now, Samsung has been the exclusive supplier of custom CPUs for the company’s popular iPhone and iPad devices. However, reports are mounting that Apple is planning on moving away from purchasing CPUs from the South Korean supplier, due to the heavy competition in the electronic device market between the two firms.
Multiple rumors have floated that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) will be Apple’s likely chip partner in the future, as reports say the company is planning to transition its chipmaking business to TSMC.
Apple is also said to play a key anti-Samsung role for companies in Taiwan for display panels. Last year, Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn made moves to purchase a piece of panel maker Sharp Corp., a move believed to have been spurred behind the scenes by Apple. The Cupertino company has long been known to be searching for alternative suppliers to replace Samsung.
