Teeth gnashing about short termism among investors aside, there may be a practical reason for this move. Apple and Samsung are both moving to their own micro-architectures. Apple has been using an in-house design since the A6, and Samsung's 64-bit ARM core will likely drop in the next year or two (the M1).
Doing your own CPU architectures is a phenomenally capital intensive business, and Qualcomm may not feel positioned to keep up. Even ARM is getting left behind. The A57 is a power-hungry design that has faced major problems with thermal throttling in many designs. The amount of cash Apple and now Samaung can throw at their custom designs may be overwhelming.
Doing your own CPU architectures is a phenomenally capital intensive business, and Qualcomm may not feel positioned to keep up. Even ARM is getting left behind. The A57 is a power-hungry design that has faced major problems with thermal throttling in many designs. The amount of cash Apple and now Samaung can throw at their custom designs may be overwhelming.