Samsung's A7 inside iPhone 5S According to new analysis

Apple's A7 processor has a dual-core CPU and quad-core GPU. Nikkei's findings echo Chipworks' earlier analysis.

(Credit: Chipworks)

The mystery of the Apple-Samsung relationship remains largely unsolved. But Japan's Nikkei Publications offered more evidence on Monday that chip-level relationships are hard to end.

After a thorough dissection of Apple's iPhone 5S, Nikkei Electronics found a Samsung-manufactured A7 processor inside the 5S. Nikkei Electronics analysis was published in Monday's Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's largest business daily.

This revelation follows analysis done in September by Chipworks that also showed a Samsung-made A7.

The A7 is Apple's newest processor that is used in the iPhone 5S, iPad Air, and iPad Mini Retina. It is the first 64-bit processor to be used in a consumer smartphone.

Nikkei Electronics, again echoing Chipworks analysis, said the A7 is built on Samsung's 28-nanometer manufacturing process -- more advanced than the 32-nanometer Samsung process used for the older A6 chip.

The publication found a dual-core CPU (central processing unit) and quad-core GPU (graphics processing unit). The latter is based on a design from Imagination Technologies.

So, how long will this Apple-Samsung relationship continue? Of course no one but Apple and Samsung know the answer to that question. But a source who is familiar with global contract manufacturing relationships told CNET recently that Apple has been working with TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), the largest chip contract manufacturer in the world.

And Globalfoundries, AMD's erstwhile manufacturing operations, could also be a potential source of manufacturing, the source said.

The moral of the story is that it is very difficult to wind down chip manufacturing relationships. It can take as long as five years, the source said.