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Chipmaker Qualcomm is teaming up with Samsung once again. The two technology giants are working together on the Snapdragon 845 processor to be rolled out in 2018. The firms worked closely together over the last year to create the Snapdragon 835, which is used in a number of smartphones including Smasung’s recently released Galaxy S8.
According to The Investor, sources are now claiming that the partnership will be renewed. It comes after Samsung recently unveiled its second generation 10-nm process, a potential reason why Qualcomm wants to jump into business with Samsung once again.
Samsung’s 10-nm Low Power Plus process reportedly delivers a 10 per cent boost to performance and reduces power consumption by 15 per cent – both handy enough features for mobile devices. Qualcomm apparently considered TSMC for collaboration but Apple has apparently contracted the fab for its upcoming iPhones, meaning TSMC have a lot on their hands.
The partnership comes at a good time for Qualcomm who have faced a barrage of legal disputes over the past few months. Last month, the chip manufacturer slapped Apple with a counter-lawsuit after the iPhone maker took Qualcomm to court for breaching an agreement between the two firms. Apple accused the chip manufacturer of overcharging them and refusing to pay a whopping $1 billion in promised rebates. However, the legal wrangling has now taken a sudden U-turn, with Qualcomm coming out swimming and counter-suing Apple. The chip manufacturer alleged that Apple has ‘encouraged regulatory attacks’ on its business by making ‘false statements’ around the world.
The legal battle came just days after the US government launched an investigation into Qualcomm for using underhand tactics in a bid to monopolise key semiconductor markets in smartphones.
