Reuters reports that Apple is reducing orders from Samsung for internal iPhone 5 components. While Samsung is said to still supply some components for the next-generation Apple smartphone, Apple is still trying to lessen its reliance on the South Korean technology firm.
It seems that Apple’s latest supply chain move is an effort to widen its supply chain as the Reuters report denies that the move is not in response to Apple and Samsung’s global patent disputes.
The Korea Economic Daily first reported that Samsung component orders would be down for the new iPhone. According to the newspaper, Samsung displays, memory chips, and batteries are excluded from the iPhone 5’s initial production run. LG Display, and other Japanese and Chinese companies (including Sanyo) are said to be the suppliers of those critical iPhone elements.
Apple’s iPhone 5 will be announced at a September 12th media event.
