Call it payback for all the courtroom litigation that Apple (AAPL) has forced onto Samsung (005930) for copying its designs. According to MarketWatch, Samsung has effectively forced Apple to pay 20% more for mobile processors. “Apple first disapproved it, but finding no replacement supplier, it accepted the [increase],” said one of MarketWatch’s anonymous sources. Samsung will reportedly provide mobile processors to Apple until 2014 under the companies’ current agreement. One of Apple’s greatest assets is its ability to control the supply chain, but it looks like Samsung won out this time. Until Apple can find another mass producer for the chips it now designs entirely in-house, it apparently has no other choice but to pay the premium to Samsung.

http://bgr.com/2012/11/12/apple-samsung-processor-price-increase/