Apple shift to TMSC for iPhone may force Samsung to split chip design, fabrication businesses
Samsung is reportedly looking at splitting off its chip fabrication business from the design aspects, to try and gain traction for the division after Apple abandoned it in the iPhone 7, and possible the future, in favor of TSMC.
According to a report from Business Korea, the four-segment Samsung LSI is being examined for a re-organization. The "system-on-a-chip" segment, and the design team will combine to form one entity, with the foundry business being spun-off into its own entity.
The evaluation allegedly came after Apple migrated all of its business for the A-series processor to TSMC.
Not immediately clear are the benefits to Samsung as a corporate entity for doing so, other than potential tax benefits. Samsung's chip foundry has recently signed a large contract with Qualcomm for future production, offsetting the losses from Apple's shift somewhat.
Overall, Samsung's chip manufacturing profits have suffered somewhat under the strain of Apple's departure for TSMC. Samsung's chief executive Kwon Oh-hyun warned the company of a low-growth 2016 partially as a result of the contract shift, as well as from a challenging smartphone marketplace.
Apple manufacturing partner TSMC has been rumored to be the sole provider of the A10 Fusion processor as found in the iPhone 7 family, as well as the future "A11" processor.
According to a report from Business Korea, the four-segment Samsung LSI is being examined for a re-organization. The "system-on-a-chip" segment, and the design team will combine to form one entity, with the foundry business being spun-off into its own entity.
The evaluation allegedly came after Apple migrated all of its business for the A-series processor to TSMC.
Not immediately clear are the benefits to Samsung as a corporate entity for doing so, other than potential tax benefits. Samsung's chip foundry has recently signed a large contract with Qualcomm for future production, offsetting the losses from Apple's shift somewhat.
Overall, Samsung's chip manufacturing profits have suffered somewhat under the strain of Apple's departure for TSMC. Samsung's chief executive Kwon Oh-hyun warned the company of a low-growth 2016 partially as a result of the contract shift, as well as from a challenging smartphone marketplace.
Apple manufacturing partner TSMC has been rumored to be the sole provider of the A10 Fusion processor as found in the iPhone 7 family, as well as the future "A11" processor.
Comments
If you are willing to take on pure faith alone that the chip foundry business isn't passing on proprietary information to the chip design business, there's someone out there who can sell you a bridge somewhere.
these morons will have one less irrational argument and their false idol will have less money.
I *might* believe it if their fab business were sold to a non-Korean company. The only candidate I can think of (though I don't know if they have the money for it) is GloFo. If GloFo doesn't have the money, maybe they could raise it from potential customers like Apple, Qualcomm, and Microsoft.
Mmm...
Maybe Sammy is going to spin off its fab business and move it to the US.
Qualcom has serious issues of their own with Apple moving to Intel for the cellular modem. With Mediatek producing low cost SoCs and LG also looking to produce their own SOC, QCOM's CPU sales are going to tank.
QCOM is planning on entering the server market, but competing with Intel on pure performance where price sensitivity is not much of an issue is an effort in futility.
Samsung will not be saved by QCOM. And when all is said and done, QCOM will also be moving to TSMC as that company has a fierce tailwind driving it in the form of Apple. They will offer greater performance at lower cost than Samsung as a result of the investments they can make because of the profits enabled by Apple.
It would be amusing to see Samsung's chip designers move to TSMC fabs because Samsung's fabs aren't as capable.
That being said, I still believe that Intel will be manufacturing Apple's SoCs one day in the not too distant future and TSMC themselves may find the loss of Apple's business quite crippling also. Intel can integrate the modem into the SOC and have that incredible memory product, 3D XPoint. Things that TSMC cannot provide.
Asking Intel to make their chips is as good as committing suicide.
Figure it it out yourself.