Investors warn Apple not to alienate Samsung
As Apple’s very public battle for market dominance bleeds out of the consumer arena into the courtroom some of Britain’s leading technology investors have spoken out, warning Apple not to go too far in alienating the South Korean giant.
Despite no love being lost between the two in their battle over intellectual property rights the pair maintains a symbiotic relationship, with Apple heavily reliant upon its rival for the supply of key processors for both the iPad and iPhone.
That relationship will hold true for the fifth iteration of the iPhone, set to launch next month and thought to be a critical bit of kit if Apple is to maintain its standing in the fast moving marketplace.
Indeed in the past year Samsung has splashed out $4bn on the upgrade of a key factory in Texas, responsible for the manufacture of application processors for Apple’s handheld devices.
“Apple needs strong suppliers”, Ben Rogoff at polar Capital said. “Apple needs to be careful what it wishes for. If this relationship deteriorated, you’d see Apple looking to diversify its supplier base, but that’s hard to do."