Apple not relying on Samsung for SoC production in 2012?

By George Wong on 06/27/2011 07:45 PDT

Apple A6 After Apple’s lawsuit against Samsung for allegedly copying the look and feel of its iOS devices dropped earlier this year, one wonders if the relationship between the two companies has suffered as a result. And judging by the latest rumors floating around online, it looks like it has. According to the latest rumors online, Apple will be producing its next generation system on a chip (dubbed A6) through the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

Rumors of the switch began earlier this year, with the DigiTimes reporting a partnership between the two companies. But it was later revealed that Apple’s A5 processor had been manufactured by Samsung, the company who produced the A4 processor in the iPhone 4 and iPad. Well that was before the lawsuit that Apple filed against Samsung.

Given the current circumstances, it wouldn’t be surprising if Apple decides to switch partners for the manufacturing of its SoC. Given how ruthless Apple has been about the case (it even increased the amount of devices under question in the current lawsuit), if Samsung decides to cut ties with the Cupertino company, it wouldn’t be unexpected either. It’ll still be awhile before any A6 processor is revealed, so rumors shall stay rumors until then. We’ll keep you posted with the latest updates.

Seen at: arstechnica Add a Comment a6 apple-inc lawsuit processor taiwan semiconductor manufacturing company TSMC

Samsung Samsung is a South-Korean conglomerate which counts many subsidiaries like Samsung Electronics, which you probably know very well, but also Samsung Heavy Industries which builds ships, or Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung Securities and many more. Samsung is responsible for an amazing 20% of South Korea's exports. In the consumer electronics world, Samsung has gone from being a company with a reputation for cheap products to becoming one of the most respected companies in the world.

SoC SoC stands for 'system on a chip' or 'system on chip' which is a way to describe that a complete electronic system (like a computer) has been integrated on a single chip that includes processors, co-processors, memory, and all the associated data buses. To qualify as an SoC, all the sub-components must be cut from the same silicon die. To learn more about SoC, read SoC: The Force That Rules All Smartphones and Tablets

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