Samsung and Apple might be adversaries in court as far as patent infringement is concerned but the two companies also work closely together as the former provides the latter with many components for its products. According to a report out of Korea, Samsung is competing against Toshiba to win the order for NAND flash memory chips for the next-generation iPhones from Apple as the Cupertino company reportedly gears up to offer more internal storage on its smartphones.
A source “close to the deal” tells The Korea Times that Samsung is in talks with Apple to sell its NAND flash memory chips for the upcoming iPhones, adding that while it's close the deal has not been finalized yet as negotiations are still underway regarding price and guaranteed shipments. Samsung's chip factory in Xian, China is said to be testing the durability and stability of the latest chips before deemed ready for initial shipment. Winning Apple's business for the next iPhone will be good for Samsung's chip business since it lost out to the likes of Toshiba, SK hynix and SanDisk for the iPhone 6. The new iPhones are not expected to arrive before September this year, it's only after they're released and taken apart will we find out precisely who provided what component.