Apple Taps Samsung to Manufacture Next iPhone Chip
Context & Ripple Effects
Samsung's foundry win follows a Korean press report that it would become the main chip supplier for the next iPhone, and Re/code now confirms Apple has committed. The move ends a run of TSMC-built iPhone chips and puts two of the world's most advanced fabs — one Korean-owned — inside Apple's supply line.
The ripple reaches beyond Apple: within weeks, Qualcomm announced plans to build its Snapdragon 820 on Samsung's lines rather than TSMC's, suggesting customers were reading Samsung's process as newly competitive. Later coverage shows how the split settled — teardown firm Chipworks confirmed both Samsung and TSMC ended up making the A9.
First-order effects
- TSMC loses sole-supplier status on the flagship iPhone chip, while Samsung's foundry business gains Apple volume at the leading edge of manufacturing.
Second-order effects
- Qualcomm's decision to route Snapdragon 820 production through Samsung instead of TSMC signals that rival chip buyers will follow whichever fab holds the Apple-validated node, intensifying foundry competition for external customers.
Third-order effects
- Dual-sourcing becomes Apple's structural playbook — the A9 shipped from both vendors, TSMC later won back exclusive 7nm work under a defect-cost-sharing deal, and by 2026 Apple was exploring US production with Samsung's Texas plant and Intel — pointing to an iPhone chip strategy built on keeping multiple foundries bidding.
The trend: Leading-edge smartphone chips are shifting from single-foundry exclusivity to multi-vendor competition, with Apple's allocation decisions acting as the market's de facto process-node benchmark.