Not Enough Capacity at TSMC? Apple Checks Chip Production at Samsung and Intel

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According to media reports, Apple is apparently sounding out Intel and Samsung as additional manufacturing partners for central processors. The move is intended to relieve the burden on TSMC, but remains technically and strategically open.

Apple is apparently examining whether some of the central processors for the iPhone, Mac and other devices could no longer be manufactured exclusively by TSMC in future. According to reports from Bloomberg, the company has held initial talks with Intel and at the same time evaluated Samsung Electronics' production capacities in the USA.

Specifically, Apple is said to have spoken to Intel about using its foundry services. Apple executives also visited a Samsung fab under construction in Texas, which is designed for advanced semiconductor processes. No orders have been placed to date.

The move would be strategically significant because Apple has been developing its most important systems-on-chip itself for more than a decade, but has largely left production to TSMC. The latest iPhone and Mac generations use chips from modern 3 nm processes.

Supply Bottlenecks Increase the Pressure

The main reason behind the exploratory talks is the desire for greater security of supply. Apple had recently pointed out the limited availability of processor chips. Components that perform key functions for the iPhone and Mac are particularly affected.

The strong expansion of AI data centers is creating additional pressure. It is tying up capacity in advanced production nodes worldwide. At the same time, the demand for Macs that are suitable for local AI applications has increased.

A second manufacturing partner would also be interesting for Apple from a purchasing and risk perspective. The Group traditionally tries to establish several sources of supply for important components. This strengthens its negotiating position and reduces dependencies on individual supply chains.

However, this is not the only reason: according to Bloomberg, market observers also suspect that Apple wants to check whether production in the USA would be possible. On the one hand, this could serve to strengthen the supply chain for chips in the advanced node area. On the other hand, it could also be an attempt to get on good terms with the current US government, which is keen to push ahead with domestic chip production.

Opportunities And Hurdles for Intel And Samsung

For Intel, an Apple order would be an important vote of confidence in the foundry business. Under CEO Lip-Bu Tan, the company is trying to attract major external customers for its production. As a reference customer, Apple could act as a signal for further orders.

Samsung would also benefit greatly. The company is more established in the foundry market than Intel, but is still well behind TSMC. A collaboration with Apple could strengthen Samsung's position in advanced logic processes, even though both companies compete in end device markets.

It remains to be seen whether Apple will actually take this step. The different approaches of the respective process nodes at Samsung, Intel and TSMC raise doubts as to whether sufficiently satisfactory results in terms of scalability, yield and process consistency can be achieved outside the TSMC ecosystem. Apple has always been a customer for chips manufactured by TSMC using high-end processes. (sg)

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