Apple has once again raised the possibility of making its chips at Fabs besides TSMC, as it is in early talks with Intel and Samsung.
Intel & Samsung Emerge As Potential Fix To Apple's Supply Constraints Affecting Its Consumer Chips
Bloomberg has just dropped some big news surrounding Apple, which is in early talks with Intel and Apple to secure additional supply for its consumer lineup.
The report highlights that Apple has held "exploratory" discussions with the two semiconductor firms as it aims to diversify the production of its chips. The company has so far relied upon TSMC for its latest chips for iPhones and Macs, but that might change soon due to supply constraints affecting every facet of the PC and smartphone space.
Apple Inc. has held exploratory discussions about using Intel Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. to produce the main processors for its devices in the US, a move that would offer a secondary option beyond longtime partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
The iPhone and iPad maker has had early-stage talks with Intel about enlisting the company's chipmaking services, according to people familiar with the deliberations. Meanwhile, Apple executives have made visits to a Samsung plant under development in Texas that will also make advanced chips.
via Bloomberg
Just last month, Apple pointed out chip supply constraints as the main reason why its iPhone sales were lower than usual. Besides TSMC being hammered with orders of more advanced AI chips, memory is also short in supply with LPDDR, a major component of Apple's products, being consumed heavily by firms as the go-to choice for AI, thanks to its low-power characteristics.
Although it would make sense for Apple to use Intel or Samsung for its chip production, neither of the companies has offered a statement on the matter. Currently, the talks are at a very early stage, and zero orders have been made.
Recently, there have been reports that Intel 18A-P could become the process technology of choice for Apple's next "M" series chips, and we can also see a potential use of 18A-P or 14A for the company's "A" series chips that are housed within iPhones. As per Kepler_L2, it looks like Apple's next-gen A21 chip can be made at either Intel or Samsung if there's a deal.
Sure sounds like a big deal for Intel, but once again, we will have to wait and see because 18A-P and 14A are still underway, and the latest PDK, which is expected later this year, will give us a true idea of whether companies such as Apple will use these technologies. Though TeraFab utilizing 14A is a major confidence booster for Intel and should also help line up more external customers, as the Blue Team has bet big on its Foundry business in becoming a top-tier chipmaker, and one that could rival TSMC in the coming years.
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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