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Despite Lawsuit, Apple Purchased $5.7 Billion Worth of Parts from Samsung Last Year

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Aside from Apple’s “intellectual property,” what else is at stake in the infringement suit recently filed by the Cupertino company against Samsung? $5.7 billion worth of business between the companies, the reported amount Apple spent on buying components from the Korean manufacturer for use in their various products. We’re talking everything from processors and RAM to flash storage and displays. In fact, Apple is said to be Sammy’s second largest client, following behind Sony. It would seem apparent that the two companies depend greatly on each other’s business.

Samsung has come out saying the company has “no choice but [to] respond strongly.” Word is the makers of the Galaxy line of Android products, the very lineup of phones and tablets at the center of the lawsuit, is gearing up to file a countersuit alleging that Apple is infringing on several of Samsung’s patents. If you didn’t think this one would get messy, you better think again.

[via Engadget]

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65 Comments

  1. hey iKing where ya at? see you failtards NEED us. What you think Apple actually uses there own shit in there products? hahahahahahah

    1. Right here fandroid doofus!!! Us??? You work for Samsung???? Or does your dumb ass think that Samsung is an Android company???? Apple designs the hardware and the A5 chips and hires Samsung to produce it, so it’s no wonder why Samsung’s versions of fake iPhones more closely resemble the real thing than the rest of the fake iPhone Android army. They have direct access to Apple’s blueprints!!!! You think Samsung is the only supplier that can produce what Apple needs??? Suppliers around the world would line up for miles to get a chance to replace Samsung…..idiots

      1. yeah they would line up…then there goes that apple quality.

      2. Wrong.

        Apple designs the case, and outside appearance. Samsung designs everything else.

        1. Wrong.

          The A5 chip is a custom chip designed by Apple and manufactured by Samsung:

          http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_A5

          Get your facts straight….

          1. Wikipedia isn’t a legit source. Anyone can write anything they want on the site.

          2. well he is an iphone user

          3. The A4 and the Hummingbird are strikingly similar. Do your research and you’ll find 1) Sammy is the source, and 2) Sammy had Hummingbirds on the market long before the iP4.

            I haven’t much for research on the A5. I don’t really care about an iPod that took steroids and added a serif to the o.

          4. Iking (no not “i”) go and fuck apple, alright? Obviously you’re not welcome here, douchebag.

          5. pretty much what apple does with the chip is just voltage regulation=> maximize battery life. The rest of the chip is IP form other parties. . . and one of them is Samsung.

      3. You honestly think there are enough CPU suppliers for phones that they could even line up for more than 100 meters? Let alone miles or decent cpu suppliers..

        1. It’s a metaphor….the point is Apple would have no problem replacing Samsung…

          1. Reality called, it misses you.

          2. really?

      4. YOU MUST LIKE ANDROID OR YOUR HATING CAUSE YOUR HERE!!! LMAO

      5. I be baiting the ifags

        http://trololololololololololo.com :D

        1. lol. . . that link i just wrong on so many levels.

      6. fyi. . . I’m not certain about the state of this but. . .
        I read a month or so ago that Apple entered into a contract for Samsung to build a chip plant in Austin, TX to help support Apple iOS devices. If that’s true, apple isn’t walking away from Samsung any time soon. I’m sure it would be some serious lawyering to get out of those contracts. . . but maybe they have some clause in the contract that says, “we can break the contract if Samsung pisses us of for anything.” lol

  2. Samsung should only use the TouchWiz they made for Honeycomb.

    1. Eh… I don’t know there… Samsung TouchWiz 4.0 on the new Galaxy S II looks pretty nice.

  3. Hmmm… Apple making plenty of $$ according to them and others. Let’s say they win this lawsuit and Samsung has to give them some more $$. Guess what’s going to happen with the parts prices that Samsung is selling to Apple? Its the beginning of the end for the iClods. Darth Jobs will not be amused.

  4. This is going to get interesting.

    1. Very interesting…

  5. Maybe Apple should sue every touchscreen phone manufacturer they all look the same. Apple is going to lose this one the fact that Samsung produces parts for their phones means it will be over that much faster. Samsung should refuse to sell them parts anymore and see where that leaves apple.

  6. Apple’s claim that Samsung copied their designs just gives the Sam tabs greater respect. If they are close enough to sue over then it stands to reason they must be good products that potential iPad customers should consider buying.

  7. So what happens to Samsung’s business with Apple if this lawsuit continues? Will Samsung just stop selling their products to Apple?

  8. Question is, can Samsung afford to lose Apple? Apple is coming off as the abusive boyfriend in this relationship and Samsung loves the way it hurts.

    1. The funny part is I know someone named Sammy that’s into S&M…. ಠ_ಠ

  9. apple want the money back, of course with dirty patten reason. this is so funny

  10. funny how this strikes the nerve in the iFans… boo hoo some one copied me… good thing the automobile got copied otherwise we’d all have to drive a steam car… I will never own the iDrone… I stare at my cereal bowl enough… hoards of iBoobs waiting for the next iCrap… padding the pocket of the iDictator… go ahead and lose your soul if you want… I’ll keep mine =)(

  11. truth be told, sammy did bite they shit. come on look at it!
    maybe this will make other android manuf. stop skinning android.

    1. Have you looked at devices pre iPhone and iPad? There are plenty that have all these designs that Apple is claiming were copied. That’s the problem, you can’t really do a whole lot with an OS and a slab of screen. Just look at all the Archos WiFi device around 2006. . . they are a screen with a black border with a grid of icons. . . just not a smartphone. HP also had a smartphone that was pretty much the same freaking thing a long time ago not to mention the LG Prada and Symbian devices that all have a grid of icons if you so choose.

      Personally I think this all needs to go to court so they can really get into what patents apple has that are valid. . . then everyone can get on with it.

  12. Yea….I want to see this go to the courts, just to see what the outcome will be.

    Even if it doesnt, I wonder does this put a strain on the Samsung, Apple relationship.

    1. No it won’t. Apple is trying to get a little money back from Samsung after spending $8billion dollars. Also there are hardly any good manufactures or computer parts, specifically mobile computer parts like Samsung has. Why do you think Sony use them for manufacturing components for their devices? In most cases you are buying a branded name product, but the guy who makes the actual product is probably selling the same type of device for less money than the branded version. Odds are that the same materials and manufacturing processes are used and you will get the same quality as the branded device.

  13. What happened to LG Prada vs Iphone lawsuit?

    1. LG hinted at one back when the orig iPhone came out, but thats all they did was hint at it.

      That would be an interesting lawsuit. I would like to see it just to see the outcome.

  14. I’m not a huge iPhone fan but when I first seen the galaxy s I thought it was a iPhone

    1. When I first saw the original iPhone I thought it would be the LG Prada
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_Prada_%28KE850%29

      1. right on brother

        1. umm or sister..lol

  15. If you can’t beat ’em, sue ’em.

    1. Apple is beating the pants off Samsung and their Galaxy iPhonies…..

      1. In a little app called “iBeatsammy” for $9,99 in the iApp store.
        In reality they just make constricted hardware with patheticly restricted software for 12 yaer olds, the elderly or basically people that don’t know shit about tech but want to have a gadget to show off with.

      2. hahahahahaaa

  16. Only the nerdiest of nerdy nerd ipone fanbitches would get on an all android news site to praise and defend the iphone…get over it its not a better mobile device than any top of the line android device

  17. Ok IKing we get it u love your iphone so much u come to an adroid news board to let us all know…so enjoy the check apple sends you for all the promo and wiki facts u provide….what!?!? they dont pay u to come here and be an idbag

  18. I’m not an apple fan, but I do agree that samsung needs to stop making their stuff looks like apple. Make something that looks better. Geez. Competition is not making urself looks like the other, but make urself looks better than the others.

    1. Come on man. This whole thing is stupid. There is only so many designs for a phone, of course they are all going to start looking alike. Right now its about whats on the inside, and with the Galaxy S2 coming out with out of this world specs, apple is getting worried.

  19. No big deal, Apple has placed a value on their “Appearance” patent and Samsung has placed values on their patents that Apple supposedly infringed on. They’ll posture a bit and then revalue each others patent portfolio and trade a few dollars back and forth. Happens all the time between high tech companies (been there, done that).

  20. Meh whatever… don’t Care for neither company

  21. This bit of interesting news I came across on Engadget:

    http://i.imgur.com/aLGOQ.jpg

    Apple doesnt have a problem with this phone by Samsung. Yet another phone that looks like an iPhone released BEFORE an iPhone. But are going after them for the Galaxy S line. Doesnt add up.

    I guess like with the LG Prada, this was made in a week too…

    1. Apple’s complaint is with the UI – compare the SGS phone icon with the iPhone phone icon… There are a lot of similarities but Apple have gone for look-and-feel lawsuits before and lost. Plus, check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW0DUg63lqU

  22. You definitely can say that Samsung did copy most of the iPhone features. As someone did say once before though, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” Hmm that Steve Jobs copying Xerox and Picasso.

    http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?desktop_uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DCW0DUg63lqU%26feature%3Dplayer_embedded&feature=player_embedded&v=CW0DUg63lqU&gl=US

  23. Something interesting rom the Meizu article:

    https://phandroid.com/2011/04/19/meizu-wants-in-on-the-us-market-with-plans-to-open-california-office/

    “The Meizu M8 was the center of a lawsuit not unlike the one currently facing Samsung. Apple argued the M8′s look and feel copied the iPhone too closely and had sales of the device temporarily halted. A patent technicality got Meizu off the hook.”

    With Samsung making the F700 and releasing it 4 months before the iPhone came out, I dont think Apple stands a chance. Again, why not go after them for the F700 too?

    Unless its about Touchwiz. No biggie. Just use stock Android or do like LG just did on their upcoming phones, make it a mix between 2 different UI’s. Cuz on their upcoming phones it looks like a cross between Sense and Touchwiz.

    1. Samsung wouldn’t have brought a lawsuit because copying is normal in the industry as long as it isn’t identical thus LG didn’t bother either and you overlook things with business partners. It just isn’t usually worth it. However, now that Apple has taken the gloves off expect Samsung to bitch slap Apple with a massive patent infringement suit of their own.

      One other thing I’ve read it that a Samsung employee said this is about Samsung holding up parts for the iPhone 5 thus Apple is threatening via this lawsuit. . . I don’t know it that’s true or not. Either way, I expect Samsung to retaliate and that will get interesting.

  24. Never bite the chips th at feed you. Haha…..samsungs got apple by the nuts, where are they gonna go without samsung? How much will apple be paying for chips once they sue samsung.

  25. BREAKING NEWS: Apple now suing all phone manufacturers claiming the rights to the rectangular shape. In other news, Apple is filing for patents in rhombus and trapezoid.

  26. Apple and Samsung are ‘freenimies’, just like Apple and Google. It’s all a big game they like to play. Frankly, I like both. I have several iProducts and an Android phone. I have not been impressed with most of the Android tablets to date. I also, am not impressed with the high cost of Apple products and their lack of support after 3 years of product life. When your Mac dies, you’ve got to get another ‘expensive’ Mac to move all of your files. At least with a PC, their are a lot more alternate places to move your backed up files to. One macbook and One Apple desktop later, I am becoming a little disenchanted with the Macintosh line. It costs more to replace the Logic board in a Mac than I can buy a ‘top-of-the-line’ desktop PC for.

    1. Yep. . . my first computer was a Macbook back in ’94 and my Dad loved Macs all the way up to his death. I left them for Win95 in ’97–bitched out MS for years but when I had to clean up my father’s Macbook Pro I was praising Win7 within days. His MbP also had the optic drive go out in 6 months and the logic board died within 1.5 years and Apple knew it was a bad logic board. Sure they replaced it but that was a circle jerk also, but they never sent an email saying it was bad. Nonetheless, I realize that Apple’s OS X is way behind Win7 and Win7 is so much easier to use–sure it will be odd at first just like any OS is but once you actually figure out how to work with Windows things are a lot easier not to mention I can buy a new notebook whenever they go out of warranty and still not spend as much per year as I would on a Mac. . . and I have tons of good free software available and I love the portable apps available for Windows. . . but I am a little annoyed at MS’ attitude.

  27. So anyone else think the iPhone 5 will be delayed now? :D

  28. Samsung makes shitty knock-off iphones… The apple iPhone is the best.

  29. Lets have a look of who is copying who.
    Samsung F700 vs Iphone
    http://i.imgur.com/aLGOQ.jpg

  30. So is really Apple the only one driving technology and innovation today? Lets give more credit to the others, but in this case Apple has a point against Samsung. The phones look very similar.

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