Apple talks to Intel, Samsung on chips

Apple’s chips are the most important parts inside the iPhone, iPad, and Mac — and for years the manufacturing side of that equation has basically meant one company: TSMC. That setup gave Apple world-class process technology, but it also left the company exposed to a single chokepoint. Now that seems to be shifting. Apple has been holding early discussions with Intel and Samsung about making its main device processors in the US, not because TSMC is suddenly out, but because relying on only one foundry has started to look too risky. ### What is Apple actually changing? Apple still designs its own chips. The change under discussion is who manufactures them. The report says Apple has explored using Intel Foundry and has also evaluated Samsung’s US manufacturing capacity, which would give Apple a second or third source for the systems-on-a-chip that power its devices. Nothing has been awarded, and the talks are still preliminary. ### Why is TSMC such a big deal here? Because TSMC has been the only company Apple has really trusted for its most advanced chips. That includes the A-series chips in iPhones and the M-series chips in Macs and iPads. The relationship worked because TSMC stayed ahead on advanced nodes and yields. But a single-supplier model is great right up until the day it isn’t — whether the problem is geopolitics, capacity crunches, or delays at one manufacturing partner. ### Why talk to Intel now? Intel is trying to prove that its foundry business can build cutting-edge chips for outside customers, not just for itself. Its 18A process is the centerpiece of that pitch, and Intel has said Panther Lake is its first client SoC on 18A and that the process is being developed and manufactured in the US. For Apple, that makes Intel interesting as both a technical hedge and a domestic manufacturing option. ### Why is Samsung in the mix too? Samsung is the other obvious alternative because it already runs a major foundry business and is building advanced capacity in Texas. Apple executives have reportedly visited the Taylor, Texas plant, which is still ramping toward advanced production. Samsung remains behind TSMC in foundry reputation, but it does offer something Apple wants — another credible path for advanced chip output outside Taiwan. ### Is Apple moving away from TSMC? Not really. This looks more like hedging than divorce. Apple may never place meaningful orders with Intel or Samsung, and the reporting says Apple still has concerns about using non-TSMC technology. That detail matters. It means Apple is testing options, not declaring a winner. TSMC is still the benchmark Apple measures everyone else against. ### Why does the US angle matter so much? Because the politics and the supply chain now point in the same direction. Washington wants more advanced chip production on US soil, and Apple has already taken a first step there through TSMC’s Arizona operations. Reports in 2024 said TSMC had started producing Apple A16 chips in Arizona, which showed Apple is willing to localize at least some chip output when the economics and technology line up. ### What’s the hard part? Making a cutting-edge chip is not like switching battery suppliers. Apple’s designs are tightly tuned to a foundry’s process rules, yields, packaging, and performance characteristics. Moving a major chip from TSMC to Intel or Samsung is more like rewriting a play for a different stage — same script, different dimensions, different lighting, different failure points. That is why “exploratory talks” can stay exploratory for a long time. ### Bottom line? This is Apple testing how much insurance it can buy without giving up the manufacturing edge that made Apple silicon so dominant. The headline is Intel and Samsung, but the real story is that single-source dependence has become too uncomfortable even for the customer with the deepest relationship to TSMC.