Apple may supply iPhone and Mac chips from its former rival Intel

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Apple is reportedly considering sourcing chips for its iPhone and Mac from its former rival, Intel. Citing Macrumors on Friday (8/5), this was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which believes an initial agreement has been reached following intensive discussions between the two companies over the past year. The preliminary agreement opens the possibility for Intel to manufacture processors for Apple’s devices. Intel would produce chips based on Apple’s designs, using the same system adopted between Apple and TSMC. Before Apple developed its own Apple Silicon, the company relied on Intel and its chip designs to power Mac products. However, during the collaboration with Intel, Apple experienced continuous chip delays. Although Intel is known as a chip company that designs and manufactures its own chips, it is also open to producing chips for other companies. Prior to these new discussions, Apple deliberately avoided Intel because, compared to other chip manufacturers like TSMC and Samsung, Intel’s technology was deemed outdated. Under the leadership of Lip Bu Tan, Intel has focused on delivering chips with the most advanced process node, 14A, with production scheduled to begin in 2028. Intel is also seeking customers for its 14A 1.4nm node. Additionally, Intel is producing 18A chips built on a 1.8nm node, along with chips based on older process nodes. Coinciding with this, Apple has been seeking to diversify its supply chain, as TSMC has been its sole chip producer in recent times. With the AI boom and high demand for AI servers, TSMC has more limited capacity for consumer device chips, reducing Apple’s leverage to convince TSMC to produce chips for it. During Apple’s latest earnings conference, CEO Tim Cook stated that the iPhone 17 model faced challenges in that quarter because Apple could not obtain enough A19 and A19 Pro chips from TSMC. Therefore, an agreement between Apple and Intel may materialise, with Intel potentially resuming chip supplies to Apple.