It appears that Apple could be sourcing a part of its chip demand from New York, if a new report is to be believed.
GlobalFoundries, which has a Fab 8 chip production unit in Malta, New York, will start producing processors for Apple's iPhones and iPads, according to a new
report by Times Union, which cites a source close to the company.
Currently, Apple's chips are produced by
Samsung in a fab unit at Austin, Texas. The report mentions that Samsung will help
Apple in starting production at the new facility.
As per the report, "A small team from Samsung is going to come to Fab 8 with Apple's chip-making 'recipes.' Samsung will help GlobalFoundries set up the manufacturing processes at Fab 8 that will be needed to make the chips."
It's not clear if GlobalFoundries will be producing the chips with Samsung being the customer placing orders on behalf of Apple, or whether Apple will directly be a customer, with Samsung just helping set up the initial operations, as noted by the report. It's also unclear if Samsung will stop producing chips for Apple at its existing facility.
GlobalFoundries refused to comment on the matter.
While it was previously reported that
Apple had signed a three-year agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company(TSMC) and its partner Global UniChip to make new A-series chips built through 20nm, 16nm and 10nm process nodes, a new report had claimed that
Samsung would be partially responsible for producing Apple's A8 chip along with TSMC. It mentioned that Samsung would take care of 30 to 40 percent of the manufacturing capacity while the rest would be handled by TSMC.
It's been claimed that Apple has been reducing manufacturing contracts with its South Korean rival Samsung, as Apple and Samsung have been locked in a series of patent lawsuits, across the world.