According to a Bloomberg report, in December 2018, Apple poached Soonho Ahn an executive from the Samsung battery-making division. According to Ahn’s LinkedIn profile, he has been working as a senior vice president at Samsung SDI since 2015. He has been instrumental in Samsung’s development of next-generation lithium battery packs.
The said executive was hired by Apple to lead in making its own batteries. It is important to note that Apple has been using batteries made by the Samsung SDI for some time now. The company has lately been on a drive to reduce its independence on third-party components. The hiring of Ahn says Apple is well on its way to producing its own batteries.
Other Components Apple wants to go at it alone
Reports on Apple planning on producing its own batteries comes against a backdrop of a raft of change the Cupertino company is said to be working on. The company has also been reported to be working on producing its own MicroLED display technology that will be used in its future devices.
The company is also reported on working on building its own processors alongside its own cellular modems.