Relations between Samsung and Apple have been warming lately, with the legal ties between them moving away from the suits and counter suits to the supply contracts and strategic partnerships.
The pair has even been dressing their promotions alike—the new fervor between the frenemies could be bad for every other player, however.
Even at the peak of litigious relations, Samsung still supplied Apple with hardware components. There was one point late last year when Apple seemed to be moving away from Samsung-supplied chips and relying more on rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), but that was also around the time Cupertino decided to ease up on the patent suits against its former friend.
Samsung split production of Apple's A8 processor with TSMC, though not by choice. Recent reports have indicated that Apple is looking to Samsung and a Samsung partner to handle all of the production of the next iPhone's A9 processor.
When news of Samsung's completion of its new 14nm FinFET processor was reported, some insiders stated their belief that the technology, more compact than TSMC's 16nm design, gave the Galaxy maker the edge in the bid for production of the A9. It is believed that Samsung and Apple teamed up on the development of the 14nm design.
Along with pumping processors out of its foundries for Apple, Samsung is also believed to have won the contracts to supply displays for new Macs, iPads and possibly even the next generation of the Apple Watch.
Along with hurting its rival with patent suits, Apple also undermined Samsung by handing out supply contracts to other companies. Smaller companies, still massive in their own right, began to profit from the tensions between Apple and Samsung, but the change in relations between the world's top two smartphone manufacturers is taking all of that back.
The rivalry between Apple and Samsung became heated, as the Korean tech company continued pumping out products that directly competed in the tier of Cupertino's best. The days of partnering are back.
Whether Samsung will admit it or deny it—it would probably deny it—admiration for Apple can be seen in the Korean company's seeming imitation in the latest Galaxy S6 Edge promo of Apple's ads.
Take a look at both videos and leave your opinion in the Comments section:
Samsung Galaxy S6
Apple Watch Edition
