Samsung supplies multiple components for the iPhone to Apple, it also shared the manufacturing of the A9 processors that power the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus with TSMC, and it was expected to supply processors for the iPhone 7 as well. A report out of Korea claims that the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has managed to edge out Samsung to become the sole supplier for the iPhone 7 processor.
It's claimed in the report that TSMC has been able to convince Apple to pick it as the sole supplier for its next-generation processor which might be called the A10. Apple was apparently satisfied with its 10nm manufacturing technology and decided to place all bets on a single supplier for the processor that will power its next flagship handset. TSMC is expected to start mass production of the A10 processor by June 2016 as new iPhones traditionally arrive around the fall.
Apple sells tens of millions of iPhones every year and that benefits its suppliers as well. Even though it shared the A9 production with TSMC, Samsung's semiconductor business still got a lucrative deal, and it's going to miss out on those revenues if Apple really doesn't pick it as a supplier for the A10. The Korean giant's semiconductor business is picking up new clients though. It will manufacture the Snapdragon 820 for Qualcomm which will power most Android flagships this year.
