Apple is considering using Intel and Samsung foundries to fabricate chips for its devices. The company seemingly held early talks with Intel about using its foundry services.
TSMC currently makes all of Apple’s chips on its cutting-edge nodes.
Intel and Samsung could join Apple’s chip supply chain
A decade ago, Apple used Samsung’s foundries to make iPhone chips. But then, it switched entirely to TSMC. In 2020, it ditched Intel CPUs for Apple silicon on Macs, moving away from Intel’s foundry as well.
As Samsung and Intel’s foundries fell behind, Apple’s reliance on TSMC grew. The deal between the two companies gave Apple exclusive and priority access to TSMC’s latest nodes. However, with that deal now over, Apple is struggling to secure enough chips from TSMC for its devices, leading to a supply crunch.
Now, Bloomberg reports that Apple is evaluating using Intel and Samsung foundries to fabricate chips for its devices. As part of this, the company’s executives visited Samsung’s under-construction foundry in Texas.
Rumors of Apple using Intel’s foundry services popped up in November last year as well.
TSMC’s foundry crunch forcing Apple to look elsewhere?
Apple is likely considering using Intel and Samsung foundries as an alternative to TSMC. The latter’s foundries are in high demand, with Apple fighting for capacity with Nvidia and AMD.
However, such a shift is easier said than done. Samsung and Intel chip packaging foundries are not as advanced and efficient as TSMC’s. This adversely affects chip performance, causing them to run hotter and consume more power.
Apple could keep its high-end and important chips on TSMC’s foundries, while using Samsung and Intel’s chip-making facilities for its low-end SoCs.
The report comes as Apple’s CEO Tim Cook revealed during the recent earnings call that the company is facing chip supply constraints.
Switching foundries is a complex process and requires Apple to adjust its chip designs accordingly. Even then, the chips may not deliver the same performance as those fabricated by TSMC. However, it is still too early to tell whether Apple will ultimately fabricate its chips at Samsung or Intel foundries.
Rajesh has been writing about consumer technology for over a decade, with a strong focus on iPhones, Macs and Apple’s ecosystem. He enjoys digging into Apple software updates, hardware changes, and discovering new Mac apps that make work faster and more enjoyable.
