Another Nail in the Apple-Samsung Relationship

Samsung told the Korea Times Monday that it will be terminating its contract to supply Apple with LCD displays next year. It blames it on the margins it can fetch from Apple’s business although it appears that it’s really Apple that’s doing the “terminating” by shifting its orders elsewhere. Apple is Samsung’s largest components customer, but Apple’s belief that Samsung stole its iPhone and iPad technology and the worldwide litigation that has resulted has driven a massive wedge between the two companies. The paper says Samsung Displays “believes its American partner is no longer a cash-generator due to the iPhone maker’s stiffer supply-chain management structure.” Apple has been rumored to be moving its business to Samsung rivals and Samsung’s move seems to confirm the scuttlebutt. Evidently Apple is getting better pricing in the process.

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