Apple has chosen Samsung Electronics to supply the CMOS image sensors for its next-generation iPhone 18, replacing Sony and ending a supply relationship that has lasted about a decade, according to multiple reports on 7 August. Samsung will manufacture the components at its new semiconductor facility in Texas, underscoring the South Korean company’s recent push to expand advanced-chip production in the United States. The agreement also highlights Apple’s effort to localise more of its supply chain in North America amid heightened trade frictions with China. Sony has been Apple’s primary image-sensor provider since the iPhone 5s was introduced in 2013. The switch threatens to erode a lucrative revenue stream for the Japanese group while strengthening Samsung’s position in the fast-growing mobile-camera market.