Samsung to Supply Memory Chips To LG, Apple
Samsung Electronics has agreed with LG Electronics and Apple to supply advanced DRAM chips for their new range of smartphones, according to a Monday report. "Under the agreement, Samsung will start providing LG Electronics with 100 percent mobile DRAM chips it needs for LG G4 smartphone, which will be unveiled in April. Also, Samsung will handle at least half of the amount that Apple needs for its new iPhone - tentatively named iPhone 6S," an industry official who is familiar with the deal told The Korea Times.
Samsung Electronics' handset division also separately agreed with the company's semiconductor division to use its in-house mobile DRAM chips for the Galaxy S6.
The agreement comes a few months after Samsung began mass production of the next generation memory chip - the 8-Gigabit LPDDR4 (low power double data rate) mobile DRAM with 20 nanometers. This new DRAM offers twice the density and performance compared to the LPDDR3 4-gigabit.
The billion-dollar deal may signal the start of a new era in the relationship between Samsung Electronics and Apple, as well as LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics.
Samsung and Apple have recently agreed to drop a number of cases against each other everywhere but in the U.S. where they continue to battle over patents.