Apple are looking to make a shift on their reliance on South Korean firms, such as Samsung, with news arriving that they could partner up with TMSC on their 20nm process.

J.T. Hsu of Citigroup reportedly told the China Economic News that Apple have been looking at TMSC, researching the possible use of the manufacturing arm's 20nm process for future quad-core processors. Hsu also teased that preliminary production may begin as soon as next month, with volume production expected to begin near the end of 2013.

Apple need to rely on Samsung for a lot of their chip production, even though the company's are involved in patent lawsuits. Business has to continue, chips need to be created and money needs to be made.