Bloomberg on Thursday reported its sources gave credence to the rumor that Samsung would manufacture the lion’s share of the upcoming A9 chip, expected to be used in Apple’s next-generation iOS devices. Apple had used Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for the majority of A8 production for its iPhone 6/6Plus and iPad Air 2 devices.
Samsung will start making Apple A9 processor chips at its Giheung plant in South Korea, the people said, asking not to be identified because the contract hasn’t been discussed publicly. Additional orders will go to Samsung’s partner Globalfoundries Inc., according to another person familiar with the arrangement.
Apple had attempted to move away form frenemy Samsung for the production of A-series chips, due to the continuing legal conflicts between the two companies.
Bloomberg’s attempts to get official confirmation of the deal were met with “no comment” from spokespeople for all of the companies involved in the report.
Both Samsung and TSMC have boosted manufacturing investments in order to gain business from Apple and Qualcomm Inc. in the more than $300 billion semiconductor industry.
Rumors over the last few months have indicated Samsung would win back the contract to be the key supplier for the A9 chip. A December report indicated Samsung was already making trial production runs for the silicon, after TSMC’s 16-nanometer process failed to prove competitive.
In more good news for the South Korean electronics firm, Samsung is also rumored to have the inside track for producing DRAM modules for Apple’s A9.
