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Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone
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american much? TSMC is not a chinese company
Apart from safeguarding a la, having all you eggs in one supplier basket, it may be a smart way to play the other suppliers off the other off each in other in terms of keeping costs down. No point in being held to ransom and maybe give them more flexibility on runs ramps ups and ramp downs.
IIRC Intel announced some years back they would facilitate or move to have some ARM fab capacity for obvious industry reason, this was before or not long after Apple Silicon became a thing.
Microsoft has hardly been reluctant to fully embrace ARM. They released a major update to Windows 11 last year which completely re-architected their ARM kernel and debuted a new x86 emulation/compatibility layer called Prism. This was alongside the launch of the new Snapdragon Elite laptops which were reviewed quite favorably.
And you're right in that forcing a move to ARM would be disastrous for Microsoft's. The primary appeal of Windows is its compatibility, including with vast swaths of custom software solutions that businesses of all sizes have built out which would require updating. Microsoft's primary revenue source is enterprise customers and enterprises need consistency with their software environments.
Apple don't make chips. They design chips. TSMC make the chips for Apple (and nVidiia).
Apple moved away Power PC architecture for Intel's x86 chips because they were more advanced at the time. Then Apple started designing their own ARM-based processors for iPhone, and saw the opportunity to build better processors for Mac based on the same architecture, as well as being able to ditch 16 and 32 bit applications because they don't have to provide the legacy support for businesses that Windows does.
That is what prompted the move. Intel just can't design good chips because they're stuck in x86 land. But they can manufacture them, and still manufacture the overwhelming majority of the world's PC chips. They were never going to die.
Intel are perfectly capable of manufacturing chips based on other people's designs, but they've traditionally been more expensive than TSMC because it's cheaper to make things in Asia than America, so no one wanted them to.
But now Apple faces a Geo-political problem where China is labeling the invasion of Taiwan as 'inevitable'. If that were to happen, the west would destroy every TSMC plant in Taiwan on the way out and evacuate as many engineers and senior staff as possible to prevent China from controlling the world's chip manufacturing for mobile devices and AI processing. If Apple doesn't have alternative suppliers in safer countries like the US or Australia, Apple will cease to exist.
Also, based on the 'leave them to die' logic, Apple should have been left to die in the late 1990s when they were on the verge of bankruptcy and should never have brought back Jobs. Companies can turn around. They can develop new technologies and processes, hire new people and deliver new products. This could be Intel's chance to focus more on being a manufacturer of chips rather than a designer, just like TSMC.
I know it’s not. My point is the China wants to, and is making preparations, to take over Taiwan.
Except for the fact that Microsoft never saved Apple you're absolutely correct.
I think that the rumor that the iPhone 19 will have an Intel chip will harm iPhone 19 sales
.I honestly don't think the article was very clickbaity, I just think many people have become allergic to reading while still having an impulsive need to rant about things they know nothing about.
Note that I said -IF- Intel can make it work.
Recent reports looks like they are succeeding, but still too soon to know if it really will work out.
What is clear though is that if it does work out, Intel will have exclusive access to the the next generation of chip production technology for at least a year or two since they bought up all of ASML’s first round of production. Everybody not Intel will have to wait until well after Intel has their machines delivered before they can get their hands on ASML’s next generation machines - that part of the story is baked in.
Intel gambled that they can make this next generation work relatively as predicted. TSMC gambled that it will be significantly more problematic and/or less beneficial than predicted. We’ll know in a year or so who bet right, but since it’s starting to look positive, it’s quite natural that Apple (and others) will be looking at what Intel can offer the next generation of chip fab. Simple as that - no political intrigue conspiracy stories or whatever needed to explain Apple’s play here.
The free market is not Darwinism. Apple's board made the decision to bring back Steve. Steve made a partnership with Microsoft in exchange for an investment that saved Apple from bankruptcy Microsoft got IE preloaded on Macs, Apple Promised to not compete with MS Office on the Mac for 5 years and both sides walked away from legal battles.
Gates could have left Apple to struggle, but letting their biggest competitor die would be welcoming even more anti-trust scrutiny at the time. Plus a true business leader that truly cares about the long term recognizes that competitive innovation benefits the entire industry.
Fun fact, almost exactly 5 years after Apple made that deal to not compete with Office on the Mac, they released Keynote.
Not a chance.I wouldn't be overly surprised if Apple buys Intel in the foreseeable future
Interesting to hear about it. Think it will happen. Not sure on when though. Eventually maybe even the Pro chips could be made.
Good point. Before this extremist rightwing turn in US politics, I always assumed important companies like TSMC in Taiwan were large enough players to assure Western protection for Taiwan, Japan and South Korea (against China and Russia). Increasingly feeling like I don’t understand anything anymore!
WTF, I will not buy anything with intel inside anymore .. they should mark on the package…
This is such clickbait. It’s not an intel chip, it’s an apple designed chip merely produced by intel. Very different to an intel chip.
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone.
In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028.
The non-pro iPhone chips would be manufactured with Intel's future 14A process, according to Pu.
The research note did not provide any other details about these potential plans, but based on the stated timeframe, Intel could start supplying Apple with the A22 chip for devices like the "iPhone 20" and "iPhone 20e" in around three years from now.
Importantly, there is no indication that Intel would play a role in designing the iPhone chips, with its involvement expected to be strictly limited to fabrication. Apple would continue to design iPhone chips, and Intel would start to handle a smaller percentage of manufacturing alongside Apple's primary chipmaker TSMC.
Last month, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said he expects Intel to begin shipping Apple's lowest-end M-series chip for select Mac and iPad models as early as mid-2027. For this, Kuo said Apple plans to utilize Intel's 18A process, which is the "earliest available sub-2nm advanced node manufactured in North America."
Intel supplying Apple-designed, Arm-based chips would differ from the era of Intel-based Macs, which used Intel-designed processors with x86 architecture.
Apple reaching a chip supply deal with Intel would boost its reliance on an American manufacturing company and help to diversify its supply chain.
Intel previously supplied Apple with cellular modems for some iPhone 7 to iPhone 11 models.
Article Link: Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone
Given the geopolitical and tech wrestling going on, this makes sense if it doesn't hamstring Apple like when Intel hindered Apple's advancements pre Apple silicon. The issue new boils down to "can Intel produce to spec on time?". And domestic production is strategically vital.
I don't see the word "chip" anywhere in the headline. Do you? Because "returning to Intel" you thought "chip" doesn't make it fact. There's a saying about people who assume...
Android phones have gotten pretty good. I'm not sure why apple users continue to mock them.
Is this because of the colour of their bubbles?
Man you remember how latest generation intels cpu were failed like hot potato. I just have no trust to intel anymore at all. They can’t produce their own cpu like without issues in production.