Apparently the already weak and strained relationship between Apple and Samsung, is now a step closer to being compromised forever.

The California giant is planning to drop Samsung as vendor for the production of its next-generation A6 processors which will be used in the upcoming iPhone and iPad devices.

At present, Samsung is one of Apple’s biggest supplier for memory chips, but from what was written on the Chinese newspaper Commercial Times, Apple is looking at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to build their next generation chips.

Taipei-based Merryl Lynch analyst Dan Heyler believes TSMC has “a good chance of winning orders for Apple’s A6 processors”. By the alchemy of Chinese whispers, this “good chance” has metamorphosed into certainty.

While Apple pours billions into Samsung’s business, it still represents only a few percent of the South Korean giant’s annual revenue that is probably on its way of becoming the largest cellphone manufacturer in the world, overtaking Nokia after 15 years of supremacy.

The reason for the change is obviously related to the ongoing legal battle between the two companies. The dispute began in April, when Apple sued Samsung in the US, because their Galaxy products (smartphone and tablet) where slavishly similar in design and technology, to the iPhone and iPad.