Apple may be preparing a major shift in how it secures the processors that power iPhones, iPads, and Macs. While the company has long depended on TSMC to manufacture its flagship consumer chips, new reports suggest Apple is now exploring additional manufacturing partners as ongoing chip supply constraints continue to pressure the wider smartphone and PC markets.
According to the latest information, Apple has entered early, exploratory discussions with both Intel and Samsung about producing Apple’s main device processors in the United States. The talks are described as preliminary, with no orders placed and no official confirmation from either Intel or Samsung. Still, the fact that Apple is even considering alternatives signals how seriously it’s taking supply risk and long-term capacity planning.
The timing makes sense. Apple recently pointed to component shortages as a key reason iPhone sales came in lower than expected. Industry-wide demand has remained intense, especially as chipmakers prioritize leading-edge production for advanced workloads, including AI-focused processors. At the same time, memory supply is also under strain, with LPDDR (widely used in mobile and low-power designs) increasingly pulled into AI-related demand because of its efficiency benefits. When multiple critical components tighten at once, even the largest companies look for ways to reduce dependence on a single source.
Bringing Intel and Samsung into the picture could give Apple more flexibility, better negotiating power, and improved resilience if capacity becomes constrained at its primary supplier. It could also help Apple hedge its roadmap against disruptions caused by geopolitical risk, natural disasters, or simple demand overload at the most advanced manufacturing nodes.
There’s also growing interest in Intel’s next-generation manufacturing technologies. Recent chatter suggests Intel’s 18A-P process could potentially be used for future Apple M-series chips, with a possibility that later Intel nodes like 18A-P or 14A could be considered for Apple’s A-series chips found in iPhones. That would be a significant win for Intel’s foundry ambitions, but it’s far from a done deal. These process technologies are still in development, and a clearer picture will depend on future milestones—especially updates to the process design kits expected later this year, which help customers evaluate performance, power, and manufacturability before committing.
For Intel, the stakes are high. The company has been investing heavily to expand its foundry business and attract major external customers. If Apple ever moved even part of its production to Intel, it would validate Intel’s push to compete at the top tier of chip manufacturing. Samsung, for its part, remains a major advanced manufacturer with aggressive expansion plans in the U.S., and Apple executives have reportedly visited a Samsung facility under development in Texas—another sign that Apple is actively surveying real-world options.
For now, the key takeaway is this: Apple isn’t abandoning its existing manufacturing strategy overnight, but it is clearly exploring ways to diversify. In an era where leading-edge capacity is scarce and demand is relentless, having more than one path to production could become a competitive necessity for the world’s biggest device maker.
