Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been separating itself from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. in recent months in the wake of an ongoing and ever-intensifying patent war surrounding the Galaxy and iPhone/iPad devices. Apple and Samsung had a harmonious relationship for years, as Samsung has been a prominent manufacturer and supplier of components for many Apple devices. But as Samsung developed its mobile division with its marriage to the Android operating system and Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), the company’s component division has been getting some push-back from Apple.
The latest perhaps is showing that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is looking to make a divorce from Samsung official – it might be just a matter of splitting up the china.
The new development in this divorce was reported by a French news outlet, which stated that Apple is changing the manufacturer of its A6X processor from Samsung to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (NYSE:TSM). The A6X is currently in the fourth-generation iPad and may likely find its way into other devices in the coming year, as evidenced by reports that Apple is looking to perform some trial production of the A6X with TSM during this quarter. This is considered an odd move by some, since the iPad Mini (with its dual-core A5 processor) is currently outselling the iPad 4 in many parts of the world.
There is also talk that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will be introducing some new products that might run the faster A6X, which may explain the desire to improve production of the component. While the devices are never talked about directly from Apple, one product making its way around the rumor mill is a new smartphone small enough to fit on a wristwatch. Of course, there is no indication that such a device would use an A6X processor, but it does seem to be fun to discuss among techies.
This is just the latest step in the separation of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) from its dependence on Samsung; when did it all begin?
It appears that the process started last fall, when Apple commissioned SK Hynix to produce memory chips and used Sharp for in-cell displays on the iPhone 5 – both components were previously made by Samsung. The changes may have contributed to a shortage of iPhone 5s when they were released, as the in-cell displays were more difficult to produce than those in previous models.
Samsung was getting a large percentage of its component business from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), so how this impending separation will affect the company remains to be seen. However, with Apple being such a presence in the tech economy, it may not have much trouble filling in the holes where Samsung was, as surely there are many companies that will line up for the opportunity to be affiliated with Cupertino.
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