The “I hate you, but I can’t live without you” relationship between Apple and Samsung is turning out to be very profitable for the latter, as it is a supplier of key components of Apple’s mobile devices. As the Korean daily Chosun Ilbo reports, Samsung has increased the price of manufacturing Apple’s iPhone and iPad processor by a 20%.
It is interesting to note, though, that this was the very first time Samsung had pushed for an increase in pricing, and since Apple’s supplier list isn’t full of alternatives for these cases, the Cupertino company accepted the South Korean company’s demands.
There were several reports about Apple terminating the contract with Samsung, but these turned out to be false, at least for now. Maybe Apple is looking for alternatives, as the latest executive management reshuffle has resulted in Bob Mansfield being head of the Technical team.
As Apple’s move to accept the demand shows, the Cupertino company isn’t yet ready for shifting away, despite making the first move by creating its first custom SoC, which it still needed to turn to Samsung to build.
We don’t know what the exact reason behind the price increase is: maybe this is how Samsung plans to pay the $1 billion?
[Via The Verge, Image credit: iFxit]
