An Apple semiconductor expert, Kim Woo Pyeong, left the iPhone maker to join his main rival, Samsung. This 'piracy' is something that is rare given the complex relationship between the two companies.
According to a Business Korea report, Woo Pyeong started working at Apple in 2014. Previously he worked at Texas Instruments and Qualcomm, as quoted from MacRumors, Tuesday (26/7/2022).
The Business Korea report did not mention what positions and responsibilities Woo Pyeong held during his time at Apple, but they only referred to him as a semiconductor expert.
This isn't the first time a veteran Apple employee has defected to Samsung. In 2012, Luc Julia who led Siri development left Apple and moved to Samsung.
At Samsung, Woo Pyeong will serve as director for the Packaging Solution Center division at Device Solution America (DSA). Business Korea said Samsung is currently focused on developing technology for chip packaging, and Woo Pyeong will lead this development.
In recent years, Samsung has increased its role in the semiconductor sector to compete with other players such as TSMC, Apple, and others. Samsung even just shipped the first chip made using 3nm processing, beating TSMC.
Business Korea called Woo Pyeong's move from Apple to Samsung something rare and unique given the competitive but cooperative relationship between the two companies.
In the mobile market, the competition between Apple and Samsung also remains fierce. The two continue to compete for the top position in the global mobile market, as well as for other devices such as smartwatches and TWS.
Although they continue to compete, Apple and Samsung also often cooperate, especially for OLED panels. Apple has reportedly ordered 80 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the upcoming iPhone 14 line.