Samsung has supplied chips to Apple since 2007, but last year it lost a contract to supply the A8 version of the processor (for the iPhone 6) to Taiwanese rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TSM). The Taiwanese firm could not match Samsung’s ability to get a 14-nanometer production line up and running in time to launch the iPhone in the second half of 2015.
The A9 chip is a 14-nanometer device, compared with the 20-nanometer A8. TSMC had gotten its foot in the door at Apple with the current A6 chip, and Apple had bypassed Samsung for the A7 version, scheduled to ship in the first half of next year.
Shares of TSMC are down about 0.7%, early this morning, at $18.32 in a 52-week range of $12.14 to $20.30.
Apple’s shares are up about 1.1%, at $430.75 in a 52-week range of $385.10 to $705.07.
For Apple to be beholden to one of its bitterest rivals must be a galling experience for the Cupertino company.
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