Samsung and Apple have been at war in the device market for years now–especially the smartphone business. (The war includes legal battles on patent infringement too, not just market share.) But all the while, they’ve also been doing business together. Samsung is a huge computer chip manufacturer–and Apple, because of its dominance, needs more chips than just about anybody. So Samsung has long been manufacturing a large portion of Apple’s chips–the tech that powers your iPad and iPhone. Apple custom-designed the chips, but rival Samsung made them.
Now the Wall Street Journal reports that Apple isn’t giving Samsung its chip business anymore. And that spells a $1 billion loss in Samsung’s chip business–from a $200 million operating profit last year to an $800 million loss this year. Steve Jobs may be gone, but Apple still plays hardball.
