Samsung: Our price hike to Apple was scheduled

Apple's A6 chip, which is designed by Apple and manufactured by Samsung.

(Credit: Apple)

The 20 percent increase that Apple's now paying Samsung for the mobile processors it uses in iOS devices was scheduled at the beginning of this year and not simply payback for any legal losses, according to a new report.

Seoul-based newspaper The Hankyorek (via The Street) reports that the two companies agreed on the new processor prices earlier this year, contradicting an earlier report that suggested Samsung strong-armed Apple into paying more when the iPhone and iPad maker could not find a replacement.

The reported 20 percent increase brings a 1 percent to 2 percent hit on Apple's margins, according to an estimate from analyst firm Piper Jaffray. The processors, which are designed by Apple though currently made by Samsung, make up about 6 percent to 9 percent of the total cost of the devices, the firm said in a research note last night.

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