세계 최대 스마트폰 제조업체인 삼성전자는 미국 최대의 통신칩 제조업체 퀄컴의 의존도를 낮출 전망이다.
삼성은 현재 매달 퀄컴에 5,000개의 로직 칩 웨이퍼를 공급하고 있으며 이는 퀄컴이 원하는 공급량, 10,000개의 절반이다. 웨이퍼는 스마트폰 주요 부품 중 하나이다.
올해 재계약시 퀄컴은 20,000에서 30,000개의 웨이퍼 계약을 요구할 것으로 보이지만, 삼성측에서 응할 확률이 매우 적다고 업계 관계자들은 전했다.
한 관계자는, “삼성이 자사 물량을 맞추기에도 급급한 상황이며 이미 스마트폰 갤럭시 S3와 S4에 자사의 엑시노스 5 옥타 프로세서를 탑재했기 때문에, 삼성이 퀄컴에 더 많은 수량을 제공할 가능성은 매우 적다”라고 말했다.
이에 대해 퀄컴코리아 관계자는 글로벌 이슈라며 말을 아꼈다.
가격 또한 변수로 거론되는데, 업계 관계자는 삼성이 퀄컴이 제시한 가격을 맞추기 어려워 공급량을 늘리지 않을 것으로 내다봤다.
삼성이 자체 필요 물량을 제대로 파악하지 못한 점과, 라이벌 애플과의 계속되는 라이벌 관계구도 또한 퀄컴에 대한 의존도를 낮추는데 기여했다고 예측되고 있다.
현재 애플과 퀄컴은 아이폰 4S부터 사용되고 있는 퀄컴의 LTE칩을 바탕으로 탄탄한 관계를 가져가고 있다.
한편, 시장조사업체 스트라태지 애널리틱스는 삼성은 작년 4사분기에 비해 9,520만 달러의 매출 신장을 보이며, 올해 1분기 6,300만대, 236억 달러의 스마트폰 매출을 달성한 반면, 애플은 229억 달러의 매출 달성, 이는 작년 4사분기에 비해 77억 달러 떨어진 수치이다. (코리아헤럴드 김지현 기자/ 번역 최인정 인턴기자)
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Samsung to cut Qualcomm reliance
Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest smartphone maker, appears to be dramatically reducing its reliance on top U.S.-based telecommunications chipmaker Qualcomm, with the latter unlikely to secure a bigger contract when an existing deal expires later this year, industry sources said on Wednesday.
Samsung currently supplies Qualcomm with 5,000 logic chip wafers each month, which was only half of the 10,000 wafers that the U.S. company had hoped to receive. The wafers are an essential telecommunications component in smart devices.
When the two firms sign on for another year as early as next month, Qualcomm hopes to secure at least 20,000 to 30,000 wafers, but the sources appeared to be skeptical of the possibility.
“Samsung’s supply lines are already stretched due to having to supply its own mobile application, the Exynos Octa 5 processor, which is doing very well in the Samsung-made Galaxy S3 ad S4 smartphones, so the likelihood of the company supplying more for Qualcomm appears to be quite small,” said one source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Qualcomm Korea officials declined to comment.
As a foundry partner, Samsung currently supplies Qualcomm with the logic chips.
Some of Qualcomm’s top competitors include Texas Instruments and Nvidia, which are cited as potential customers for Samsung.
Price may also be a factor, industry watchers said, noting that Qualcomm may not have been able to meet Samsung’s demands on the chip costs.
Samsung’s ongoing rivalry with Apple is said to have possibly contributed to the eased dependence on the U.S. chipmaker as well, as Qualcomm boasts strong ties with Apple, as Apple has used Qualcomm’s LTE chips starting with its iPhone 4S, onto the latest iphone 5, sources said.
Qualcomm’s latest announcement on the development of a new chip -- the “RF360 Frond End Solution which enables a single platform to function all existing networks -- is fueling anticipation for even more robust ties.
Another bigger reason, however, explaining why Samsung was possibly “forced” to spurn Qualcomm is because Samsung is reportedly having trouble calculating its processor and memory chip demand, watchers said.
“Samsung has been having trouble calculating the demand, and this is having a toll on its suppliers, including companies like Qualcomm,” said one expert.
Samsung reportedly failed to forecast that Apple would be shipping such a reduced number of smartphones this year.
Figures from Strategy Analytics showed that compared to Samsung’s first quarter smartphone sales, which reached 63 million units worth $23.6 billion, Apple sold $22.9 billion worth to reflect a more than $7.7 billion decline from the previous quarter. Samsung’s sales rose $95.2 million from the fourth quarter. (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)
