Samsung has hiked the price of processors used in Apple's iDevices by 20 per cent and the fruity firm has had to suck it up, Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo said.

A source told the paper that Samsung said it wanted more moolah for its application processors and Apple has had to accept this because no one else can fulfil the contract, the WSJ has reported.

Despite Apple's attempts to diversify away from its ever more bitterly hated rival, shifting RAM and flash storage to its other suppliers, no other chip firm can churn out Apple's processors like Samsung, forcing Cupertino to accept the price hike.

Apple and Samsung have been locked in what increasingly looks like a patent deathmatch as the Korean firm's Galaxy range competes for top spot with Apple's iPhones and, to a lesser extent, fondleslabs.

Samsung lost one battle in the war in the US, when a jury decided that Sammy was infringing on fruity IP and awarded Apple just over $1bn. But Samsung has been trying to get that verdict overturned on claims of jury misconduct.

In the meantime, Apple has been the one losing out in the UK, forced to post a statement in newspapers and on its website stating that Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 does not copy its iPad.

The tech infighting is hottest between Apple and Samsung, although the fruitchomp firm has taken other Android manufacturers to court too. Google-owned Motorola has a number of cases with Apple and HTC once did too, although just this weekend the Taiwanese firm reached a settlement. HTC agreed to a 10-year licence agreement, the terms of which are confidential. ®