Samsung has hiked the price of its chips sold to Apple, its archrival in the smartphone and tablet space, MarketWatch reports. According to the report, which first appeared on Monday at Chosun Ilbo, Samsung raised the price of mobile processor supplied to Apple by 20% recently.

"Samsung Electronics recently asked Apple for a significant price raise in (the mobile processor known as) application processor," an unnamed person was quoted as saying in the report. "Apple first disapproved it, but finding no replacement supplier, it accepted the (increase.)"

The two firms have started to reflect the new supply price recently, the report added, citing the same person.

The same rreport says that Apple buys all application processors used for production of iPhone and iPad from Samsung Electronics with the volume estimated to be 130 million units last year and more than 200 million units this year.

Samsung Electronics and Apple's South Korea office have not commented on the report.

Samsung's contract to provide chips to Apple expires in 2014.