If recent media reports are to be believed, global tech firms Apple Inc. and Samsung will perhaps be setting their bitter business rivalry aside for some time, as the South Korean tech giant will be manufacturing the processor chip for the Cupertino-based tech titan's purported upcoming iPhone 7.

South Korean Maeil Business Newspaper claims that Apple will be relying on Samsung once again to produce chips for its hugely popular smartphones. Earlier, Apple has been careful to maintain a distance from its major rival and obtained the services of other chip manufacturers for the A8 chip, which is now used in the company's flagship smartphones - the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Apparently, it will not be easy to replicate the A9 chip elsewhere.

A global leader in chipsets, Samsung has developed a technique that enables it to make transistors for its own chips as small as 14 nanometers. In other words, smaller transistors offer additional processing power for each square inch. While Apple has been working with the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the later can only make transistors that are 20 nanometers at the smallest.

Therefore, it seems that the Cupertino tech giant will require working with Samsung, provided its wants its devices to be more powerful. However, the problem is that these two tech titans have been entwined in a prolonged legal battle, with the American company receiving $1 billion in settlements.

As Apple has launched the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus only in September 2014, currently there is very little or no information regarding the next-generation iPhone. However, the rumor mill is busy coming up with purported specs and features of the upcoming device. According to one such rumor, the device is likely to come with 2GB of RAM and a 14-megapixel camera. Whether this will be a reality or not is anyone's guess, if it happens, it would be the first time that an Apple device will be sporting a 14-megapixel camera.

According to most estimates the iPhone 7 should be available later this year, probably in September 2015 or the weeks either side thereof.