Apple’s exclusive supplier for 10 years now for their chips is TSMC, but the collaboration may be concluding as the company is looking for other chip suppliers to manufacture their processors that lean towards the lower end.
TSMC is conducting more business with AI companies like Nvidia. Rumors in the past hinted that Intel could start supplying Apple with the lower-end processors by next year or the year after. Jeff Pu, GF Securities analyst reported a few months back that Intel is expected to reach a deal with Apple for supply chips where they will provide the chips for some iPhones that are not Pro models in 2028.
Chips suppliers aside from TSMC have seen a rise in demand in the midst of the surge of AI servers, such as SK Hynix and Samsung’s RAM chips. CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, reported during the earnings call that the increased prices in memory chips had a minimal impact on the company’s gross margins during the last quarter, and could be a bit more impactful in the current one.
