Samsung said to win chip orders for next iPhone

Samsung Electronics Co. will manufacture the main chip in Apple Inc.’s next iPhone model, regaining a customer previously lost to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, Bloomberg reports, citing spirces with direct knowledge of the matter.

Samsung will start making Apple A9 processor chips at its Giheung plant in South Korea, the people said, asking not to be identified because the contract hasn’t been discussed publicly. Additional orders will go to Samsung’s partner Globalfoundries Inc., according to another source familiar with the arrangement.

Winning this order from Apple will help the world’s second-largest chipmaker rebound against TSMC, which last year ended Samsung’s monopoly over contracts to make iPhone and iPad chips. Both manufacturers have boosted capital expenditures to gain business from Apple and Qualcomm Inc. in the more than $300 billion semiconductor industry.

The Apple order may lead to additional business, said Song Myung Sup, a Seoul-based analyst at HI Investment & Securities Co. “If Globalfoundries quickly adopts Samsung’s most advanced technology and increases yield, it could also win orders from Qualcomm.”

Kelly Yeo, a spokeswoman for Samsung, declined to comment. Kevin Kimbal, a Globalfoundries spokesman, said his company doesn’t comment on any customer relationships. Josh Rosenstock, an Apple spokesman, declined to comment. Elizabeth Sun, a spokeswoman for TSMC, declined to comment.

Apple picked TSMC to produce A8 processors for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices. Those agreements came as the relationship between Apple and Samsung soured because of legal disputes dating to 2011.