Apple Taps Samsung to Produce iPhone 18 Image Sensors in Texas [Report]

A new report from the Financial Times says Samsung Electronics will produce digital image sensors for Apple at its semiconductor facility in Austin, Texas. The deal is another clear sign that South Korean tech companies are beginning to see returns on their U.S. investments as President Donald Trump's tariff policies take shape.

The iPhone maker said Wednesday that it would work with Samsung's Texas plant "to launch an innovative new technology for making chips, which has never been used before anywhere in the world." According to people familiar with the agreement, the South Korean chipmaker will produce a three-layer stacked image sensor for Apple's iPhone 18, which is expected to launch next year.


The deal is part of a plan announced at the White House by CEO Tim Cook to raise Apple's U.S. investments by $100 billion. The announcement came the same day President Trump vowed to impose a 100 percent tariff on chips, but added that companies like Apple that invest in the U.S. could avoid the new levies. This follows earlier threats from Trump that Apple could face a 25% tariff if it doesn't move manufacturing to the U.S.

South Korea's trade minister, Yeo Han-koo, said Thursday that Samsung and rival SK Hynix would not be subject to the 100% tariffs, and that South Korean chips "would not get unfair treatment" under a trade deal agreed between Seoul and Washington last week. "Samsung seems to have won this deal from Apple because of the imminent tariffs on foreign chips," said Lee Jong-hwan, a professor of semiconductor engineering at Sangmyung University.

Professor Lee noted the deal means Sony, whose image sensors are produced by TSMC in Japan, would no longer be Apple's sole supplier for the technology. "Apple will have preferred Samsung over Sony because Sony doesn't have US plants," he said. Sony, which reduced its estimated tariff impact this fiscal year from ¥100 billion to ¥70 billion, said in a statement, "We remain confident that we are advanced in providing sensor technology to our customers, and we will focus on continuing further technological advancement through larger sensor size and density."

The Financial Times notes the deal also marks a reconciliation between the two tech giants, which had an acrimonious split in the 2010s after Apple dropped Samsung as its main chipmaking partner in favor of TSMC. "It is not a big-size deal, but it is still meaningful that Samsung became another supplier for Apple in addition to Sony, which was a sole supplier for Apple's image sensors," said Pak Yuak, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities. "This deal will boost Samsung's US plant operating ratio and help reduce its foundry losses."


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