Apple and its iPhone 7 may have just put the "fab" in fabrication news for TSMC, the Taiwanese iPhone chip maker that previously split manufacturing duties with Samsung.
It'll be the sole provider of the Apple A10 System-on-a-Chip, believed to be the next processor at the heart of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7S, reports 9to5Mac, citing The Electronic Times.
TSMC isn't exactly new to this. It took charge of manufacturing the Apple A8 chip, which went into iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in 2014, and the new Apple TV this past year.
The iPad Air 2 featured the Apple designed A8X made by TSMC and, most recently, the iPad Pro was bumped up to its blazingly fast Apple 9X successor.
But Samsung has had its hands in every single other iPhone and iPad processor, from the first iPhone to the the most recent iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus.
Why this is a big deal for Samsung
This is a big blow to Samsung because while its smartphone division has struggled in recent months, it still saw an increase in profits from making the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus chips.
Apple has long been looking to push Samsung out of the picture. After all, it's not only the top iPhone challenger, it's been locked in a bitter court battle with Samsung since 2011.
All hope is not lost for Samsung's phone processor manufacturing business. It's said to be helping Qualcomm mass produce the new Snapdragon 820 chip.
That speedy System-on-a-Chip is rumored to be at the center of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, both of which are expected to be unveiled on February 21.
