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Samsung has just won a very important battle against Sony for the control of the image sensors of the iPhone. And the key has not been technology, but geography.
Why is it important. Apple has announced An extra investment of 100,000 million dollars In the United States (regarding Middle Billón Original) and has chosen Samsung as a partner to make three -layer image sensors for the iPhone 18.
- Sony, its exclusive provider for years, produces only in Japan.
- With the 100% tariffs that Trump plans to impose on foreign chips, Apple urgently needed a national alternative.
The context. Samsung will operate a production line of 10,000 monthly wafers in its Austin factory since March. It is the first time that he will manufacture image sensors in the United States. The three -layer stacked sensors What will they use are so advanced that There are only two companies that can dominate them on a commercial level. One is Samsung. The other is Sony.
Between the lines. This agreement marks the definitive reconciliation between Apple and Samsung after years of wars for patents that led the first to abandon the second as the main chips manufacturer.
Sony’s supply problems in 2023 and 2024 reopened the door, but it has been Trump’s tariffs who have closed the deal.
The threat to Sony. The Japanese manufacturer has reduced its estimate of the impact of tariffs on their accounts. From 100,000 to 70,000 million yen – 581 to 406 million – in this fiscal year.
But the reality is harder: without facilities in the United States, it will progressively lose market share in the most profitable business of mobile sensors.
Deepen. Samsung not only wins this contract. The strategy of expanding your capacity in the United States has also given you The 16,500 million agreement with Tesla for AI chips.
Samsung is making very intelligent maneuvers: it is turning Trump’s protectionist policies, originally harmful to its business, an advantage against Asian rivals without a American presence.
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