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Tag: TSMC

  • Rumor: Apple, Intel deal could see Intel begin to manufacture some iPhone chips in the next few years

    Rumor: Apple, Intel deal could see Intel begin to manufacture some iPhone chips in the next few years

    Following up on reports that Intel may start manufacturing chips for some Mac and iPad units over the next few years, a new rumor states that the partnership could extend to manufacturing chips for the iPhone.

    Per MacRumors, a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, 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.

    While the research note didn’t list specifics as to the potential plan, it did offer a timeframe in which Intel could start supplying Apple with the A22 chip for devices like the “iPhone 20” and “iPhone 20e” around three years from now.

    There’s no further indication of Intel’s role in designing the iPhone chips, and its involvement could be strictly limited to fabrication. Apple, in turn, would continue to design the iPhone chips, and Intel would start to handle a smaller percentage of manufacturing alongside Apple’s primary chipmaker, TSMC.

    Intel supplying Apple-designed, Arm-based chips would differ from the era of Intel-based Macs, which used Intel-designed processors with x86 architecture.

    Such a deal between Intel and Apple would allow Apple to diversify its supply chain with an American manufacturing company.

    Intel previously supplied Apple with cellular modems for some iPhone 7 to iPhone 11 models.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors

  • Rumor: Apple may use Intel to help produce lower-end M7 chips in the United States beginning in 2027

    Rumor: Apple may use Intel to help produce lower-end M7 chips in the United States beginning in 2027

    After years of strife, Intel could see its chip foundries once again making Apple chips as soon as 2027.

    Per AppleInsider and industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the lower-end M7 Apple Silicon chip could be produced in the United States come 2027.

    Until now, all M-series chips used in Macs and iPads have been built by TSMC at its factories in China and elsewhere. Kuo’s post suggests that Apple will have TSMC build its entry-level M-series chips at its U.S.-based factories from 2027. The rest of Apple’s chips will continue to be provided by TSMC. The post also noted that Apple has already been discussing its manufacturing technologies and their suitability for M-series production.

    The report goes on to say that simulation and research projects have so far proven successful. Apple is now reportedly waiting for Intel to get its technological ducks in a row to use its 18AP node around the middle of 2027.

    It’s thought that Intel-built M7 chips could likely be used in iPads and MacBooks in roughly two years. Kuo’s report also notes that the upper end of the line, such as the Pro and Max chips, will stay with TSMC.

    The M7 chips are thought to remain based on the ARM architecture, as all M-series chips have been since their introduction. Intel, in turn, while producing them, will not use its x86 hardware that Apple famously transitioned away from in 2020.

    As for why Apple would want to have Intel manufacture its chips again, Kuo has posited two key reasons:

    The first is a continued effort by Apple to diversify its supply chain. Apple has sought to avoid a heavy reliance on single companies and Chinese factories in particular since the COVID-19 pandemic caused mayhem in its supply chain. By adding Intel as a source of Mac and iPad chips, the company diversifies its production.

    The second reason is political, wherein Apple sees using Intel’s U.S.-based factories as a way to appease United States President Donald Trump. Trump has long sought to push companies to bring manufacturing back to the States, something Apple has struggled to do.

    Appeasing the Trump administration could be seen as a way to earn preferential treatment, especially in the wake of tariffs, which have caused economic uncertainty around global manufacturing.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider and @mingchikuo

  • TSMC announces accelerated U.S. chipmaking/production rate for Arizona-based plants

    TSMC announces accelerated U.S. chipmaking/production rate for Arizona-based plants

    A greater number of chips are set to be made in the U.S. as TSMC has stated that it is busy accelerating the construction of its second and third Arizona plants, fulfilling a promise made back in March. The chipmaker announced that it is bringing more advanced processes to the U.S. earlier than initially expected, which will offer chip production for more recent Apple products.

    Apple first announced its plan for ‘Made in America’ chips back in 2022, with the news hailed as one of the success stories of the US CHIPS Act. The initiative will see a series of TSMC chipmaking plants built in Arizona, with some of the production reserved for Apple chips.

    At present, TSMC deliberately limits its most advanced chipmaking capabilities to its home territory of Taiwan, leaving the U.S. plants to create chips for older Apple devices. This seems to have changed, as the company has recently promised to accelerate the pace of its development. At present, TSMC will eventually be making chips for products around three generations old, rather than the previous 4-5 years. The company broke ground on its third U.S. plant back in April.

    TSMC Chairman and CEO C.C. Wei offered the following comment to investors and reporters in an earnings conference on Thursday:

    “After completion, around 30 percent of our 2-nanometer and more advanced [chip] capacity will be located in Arizona, creating an independent, leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing cluster in the U.S.”

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via 9to5Mac and Nikkea Asia

  • Rumor: M5 chip expected to debut with upcoming iPad Pro, Vision Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac this year and next year

    Rumor: M5 chip expected to debut with upcoming iPad Pro, Vision Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac this year and next year

    If you’re hankering for the debut of Apple’s upcoming M5 chip, the rumor mill has it arriving later this year in the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac.

    The M5 chips will reportedly be manufactured with TSMC’s latest third-generation 3nm process, which should result in slight performance and power efficiency improvements over M4 chips fabricated with its second-generation 3nm process.

    The next-gen iPad Pro, which was updated with an OLED display and a much thinner design last year, is expected to receive an M5 chip and enter mass production in the second half of 205. The current iPad Pro models with the M4 chip launched in May 2024, and Apple typically updates the iPad Pro on a roughly 18-month cycle, so the next models could be released in September or October. Apple is also rumored to be outfitting the upcoming iPad Pro with ultra-thin bezels.

    Where the Vision Pro is concerned, Kuo stated that the Vision Pro will be updated to the M5 chip later this year. The wearable headset is expected to enter mass production in the third quarter of 2025, which began last week. The other specs seem likely to remain the same, and the M5 may be the only change. The current Vision Pro with the M2 chip was released in February 2024.

    Kuo does not expect a true Vision Pro 2 to launch until 2028.

    For the MacBook Pro, Apple is expected to release updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5, M5 Pro, and M5 Max chips in October this year. The notebook is expected to receive its first major redesign since 2021 next year, with upgrades to include an OLED display and a thinner design. Of course, Apple will also be on to M6 chips by then.

    Last week, AppleInsider shared a list of alleged identifiers for future Mac models, including both a Mac mini with an M5 chip, a Mac mini with an M5 Pro chip, and an iMac with an M5 chip, which could arrive alongside the next MacBook Pro and Mac mini models later this year.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors and AppleInsider