Reports for Apple today say that the company has reduced
its orders for memory chips from Samsung Electronics.
Seperately, Apple is reportedly working on a streaming
radio service that would challenge Pandora.
Citing an unnamed industry source,
The Korea Economic
Daily newspaper reported on Friday that Apple had
dropped Samsung from the list of memory chip suppliers for
the upcoming iPhone 5, choosing Toshiba, Elpida Memory and
SK Hynix to supply DRAM and NAND chips.
Apple also picked China's Amperex Technology Ltd and
Panasonic as battery suppliers for the new smartphone,
dropping Samsung SDI from the initial supplier list, the
Korea Economic Daily added.
LG Display is the main display supplier of Apple, as Sharp
has fallen behind schedule on iPhone display production.
Nor Samsung neither Apple commented on the report.
Samsung has been a core Apple supplier, producing micro
processors, flat screens and memory chips for the iPhone,
iPad and iPod.
Apple may be seeking to diversify its memory chip supply
lines, as the two companies are locked in global patent
disputes.
A second report surfaced today by the Wall Street Journal
said that Apple was in talks to license music for a
custom-radio service that would challenge Pandora and
similar virtual radio stations.
The Journal said Apple's service would work across its
devices, including the iPhone, iPad tablet and Mac
computers and possibly devices running Microsoft's OS - but
not Android.
The music on Apple's service would be interspersed with
ads, the report said.