Apple may be preparing a backup plan for one of the most important parts inside its devices: the main processor.
According to a Bloomberg report cited by Engadget, Apple has held early discussions with Intel and Samsung about producing key device chips. These are the system-on-chips, or SoCs, that sit at the heart of products like the iPhone, iPad and Mac. Apple has also reportedly visited Samsung’s upcoming chip facility in Texas.
Nothing is locked in yet. The report says Apple has not placed orders with either company, and talks are still at a very early stage. But the direction is clear: Apple is apparently not comfortable depending so heavily on one manufacturer.
For years, TSMC has been Apple’s main chipmaking partner. That partnership has helped Apple push ahead with powerful and efficient A-series and M-series processors. The iPhone, iPad and modern Mac lineup all benefited from that tight Apple-TSMC relationship.
The problem is supply chain flexibility. Tim Cook recently said Apple has “less flexibility in the supply chain than we normally would,” and that matters when the whole tech industry is fighting for chip capacity. AI hardware is also eating up manufacturing resources, which makes advanced chip production even more competitive.
There is also the Taiwan factor. Apple has previously raised concerns about what could happen if Taiwan’s chip supply was disrupted by a conflict involving China. TSMC is already making some Apple chips at its Arizona plant, and Apple says 100 million of its SoCs will be produced in the US in 2026. But that is still only part of the picture. Apple shipped 247.4 million iPhones in 2025 alone, so the majority of its chips are still expected to come from Taiwan.
For Malaysia and SEA users, this sounds like corporate supply chain stuff, but it can hit us directly. If chip production gets disrupted, the impact usually shows up as delayed launches, tighter stock, weaker promotions, and higher prices at retail. Anyone who has waited for a new iPhone colour or watched MacBook pricing jump here knows the pain.
Don’t expect Intel- or Samsung-made Apple chips immediately, though. Apple is still reportedly set to use TSMC’s 2nm N2 process for the A20 and A20 Pro chips in the iPhone 18 lineup. If Apple does move some production elsewhere, those chips would likely appear in products from 2027 onward.
Intel could be in the running for future non-Pro iPhones using its 14A process around 2028, according to the report. That would be a massive win for Intel, which has been trying to rebuild its chip manufacturing business under CEO Lip-Bu Tan. The US government also took an $8.9 billion stake in Intel last year under Trump, showing how strategic chipmaking has become.
Samsung has its own pitch too. The company recently claimed it was first with a 2nm mobile chip, the Exynos 2600. Still, both Samsung and Intel have spent years trying to catch up with TSMC’s consistency, especially around smaller, more efficient chip designs. Yield issues and overheating problems are not small matters when you are building processors for millions of premium devices.
So yes, Apple may be shopping around. But TSMC is still the benchmark. For Apple fans in Malaysia, the real thing to watch is whether this diversification eventually improves availability and pricing stability — or whether it creates a split where some models get better chip tech than others.
Source: Engadget