Samsung reportedly raising iPhone and iPad processor prices by a fifth

Samsung has made no secret of the fact that it provides a number of the key components inside Apple’s flagship iPhone and iPad devices, even while actively competing against them with its own Galaxy line of Android competitors. A major change in that relationship has now been reported out of Korea, however, where the Chosun Ilbo says Samsung has increased the price of manufacturing Apple’s application processor by nearly 20 percent. The Korean daily notes that this is the first time Samsung has sought to increase pricing on the processors that go inside Apple’s mobile devices, and that Apple, faced with a lack of alternatives, has accepted Samsung’s demands.

Although custom-designed by Apple itself, the A-series of mobile processors are built by Samsung — an uncomfortable relationship of closeness between two increasingly bitter rivals. While Apple has sought to diversify away from Samsung in recent times, by procuring its RAM and flash storage from other suppliers, it appears nobody else is able to match the production volume that Samsung can offer. Unfortunately, the Chosun report fails to identify the reasons for Samsung’s raised pricing, though it may have something to do with a significant recent investment the company made in retooling its plant in Austin, Texas, the very same that builds Apple’s processors.

Hyunhu Jang contributed to this report