[filoleg]

This is incorrect. Apple doesn't buy chips from Samsung or TSMC. Apple orders the chips to be manufactured by them. The chip design is made by Apple on their own.

Buying a chip from someone (i.e., purchasing rights to use an existing chip design made by someone) vs. ordering your own chip to be manufactured by someone are two different things.

It's like, we don't say that Apple just bought phones from Foxconn, they simply acted as a manufacturer.

[rrdharan]

Sure, my point is just that it's not insane to give money to another arm (pardon the pun) of a company you happen to be competing with, and in fact it happens all the time.

[dehrmann]

Apple still buys flash (I think) and sdram from Samsung.