Apple may be preparing to spread out its chip manufacturing beyond TSMC, and this time Intel is reportedly in the mix.
According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple and Intel have started small-scale work on producing older Apple silicon using Intel’s 18A-P process. That process is said to be comparable to the TSMC node used for Apple’s A18 Pro chip, which powers the current high-end iPhone lineup.
The important bit: these are not expected to be Apple’s most bleeding-edge chips. Kuo says the Intel-made parts are likely lower-end Apple silicon for iPhones, iPads and Macs, with around 80% of the volume aimed at iPhone.
For Malaysia and SEA users, this does not mean your next iPhone suddenly becomes cheaper overnight. No RM pricing impact has been confirmed, and Apple’s retail pricing here is affected by way more than chip sourcing alone — currency, taxes, storage tiers, logistics, and Apple’s own positioning all play a role.
But it still matters. Apple relies heavily on TSMC, and while TSMC has been extremely strong, depending too much on one supplier is always a risk. If Apple can get Intel to produce reliable chips in the US, it gives the company more flexibility when planning future iPhone, iPad and Mac supply.
Kuo believes Apple and Intel are currently testing at a limited scale throughout this year. If things go well, production could increase in 2027 and 2028, before capacity potentially drops again in 2029. Apple is also reportedly looking at Intel’s more advanced process nodes, which suggests this may be more than a one-off experiment.
Still, don’t expect TSMC to disappear from Apple’s roadmap. Kuo estimates TSMC will continue supplying around 90% of all Apple silicon chips, so Intel would be a secondary partner rather than a full replacement.
The likely play here is diversification. Apple gets another manufacturing route, Intel gets a major confidence boost for its foundry business, and consumers hopefully get more stable product supply over time.
For Malaysian buyers, the biggest thing to watch is not immediate performance. It is whether future entry-level iPhones, iPads or Macs using these chips stay consistent in availability and pricing. If Apple can reduce manufacturing bottlenecks, launches across SEA could feel smoother — less waiting, fewer weird stock gaps, and hopefully fewer painful pricing jumps.
For now, this is still testing, not a confirmed product launch. But if Apple really starts using Intel-made chips in future iPhones, it would be one of the more interesting shifts in the mobile hardware supply chain.
Source: GSMArena