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> One issue is there's a significant conflict of interest between their device and CPU businesses. Apple left them precisely because Samsung is a competitor in

> One issue is there's a significant conflict of interest between their device and CPU businesses. Apple left them precisely because Samsung is a competitor in handsets, and other handset manufacturers are also wary of buying from them for the same reason. I don't think what bothered Apple is relevant to other phone makers. Case in point, Qualcomm doesn't mind having Samsung fab their SoCs, and even their modems, a domain where Samsung has repeatedly tried to catch up! Anyway in the current Android smartphone landscape, everyone is using ARM reference CPU designs.

dv_dt 5y ago
There was also a point in Samsung’s past when they had been selling Nand chips to the market, then decided to hold all the capacity for themselves (or maybe Apple and themselves), then somewhat recently opened it back up again - but nand (and CPU) chips aren’t easily interchangeable - so a reliable partner is more important. Dram chips on the other hand are much more interchangeable.
- Throwawayaerlei 5y ago
  A lot of what I read about TSMC's current lead is that it's based on trust, including creating a complete ecosystem based on that. As you note Samsung is not so trustworthy a company for outside competitors, and I'd add reports it's not always honest about what it's accomplishing for its foundry customers, or would be ones.
simonh 5y ago
It's depressing, it seems like the high end Android handset market has disappeared. What we have now are midrange and low end, and what passes for high end are really mid range phones dressed up with a few premium features or gimmicks.
- RNCTX 5y ago
  > What we have now are midrange and low end, and what passes for high end are really mid range phones dressed up with a few premium features or gimmicks. Ultimately no one can shake their culture, it follows you like your shadow. Google's is cheap and low-end. They have become the Walmart of tech companies.

dv_dt 5y ago

There was also a point in Samsung’s past when they had been selling Nand chips to the market, then decided to hold all the capacity for themselves (or maybe Apple and themselves), then somewhat recently opened it back up again - but nand (and CPU) chips aren’t easily interchangeable - so a reliable partner is more important. Dram chips on the other hand are much more interchangeable.

Throwawayaerlei 5y ago
A lot of what I read about TSMC's current lead is that it's based on trust, including creating a complete ecosystem based on that. As you note Samsung is not so trustworthy a company for outside competitors, and I'd add reports it's not always honest about what it's accomplishing for its foundry customers, or would be ones.

simonh 5y ago

It's depressing, it seems like the high end Android handset market has disappeared. What we have now are midrange and low end, and what passes for high end are really mid range phones dressed up with a few premium features or gimmicks.

RNCTX 5y ago
> What we have now are midrange and low end, and what passes for high end are really mid range phones dressed up with a few premium features or gimmicks. Ultimately no one can shake their culture, it follows you like your shadow. Google's is cheap and low-end. They have become the Walmart of tech companies.