Intel Reportedly Secures Apple Orders; Experts: TSMC's Technology and Yield Create a Moat
According to foreign media reports, Apple and Intel have reached an initial agreement for Intel to produce some chips for Apple devices. However, semiconductor industry experts point out that TSMC, with its leading advanced packaging technology, stable process yield and delivery record, and extensive R&D moat, will remain Apple's top choice for flagship chip manufacturing in the short term. It will be difficult for Apple to shift its orders away from TSMC quickly.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 10, 2026 at 15:56
- 🔍 Collected: May 10, 2026 at 16:01 (5 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 10, 2026 at 20:18 (4h 16m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Wu Chia-hao, Taipei 10th) Foreign media reported that Apple and Intel have reached an initial agreement for Intel to produce some chips for Apple devices. Semiconductor industry experts point out that TSMC, with its leading advanced packaging technology, stable process yield and delivery record, and extensive R&D moat, will still make it difficult for Apple to shift flagship chip orders to Intel in the short term, and TSMC remains Apple's preferred foundry partner.
The Wall Street Journal reported on the 8th, citing informed sources, that Apple and Intel had been in intensive negotiations for over a year and finalized a formal agreement in recent months. It is currently unclear which Apple products Intel will manufacture chips for. Bloomberg reported last week that Apple had also held preliminary discussions with Samsung regarding processor production.
Liu Pei-chen, Director of the Industrial Economics Database at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, told the Central News Agency today that TSMC's developed fan-out integrated (InFO) and CoWoS advanced packaging technologies are core to the excellent performance of Apple's M-series and A-series chips. In comparison, Samsung and Intel's performance at the same process level, whether in chip yield or power consumption, currently cannot meet Apple's stringent commercial standards.
Liu Pei-chen analyzed that there is a deep technological binding between Apple and TSMC, which has become a difficult barrier for competitors to overcome. Unless competitors can achieve a leap-forward technological breakthrough in 2nm process or more advanced Gate-All-Around (GAA) architecture, TSMC will remain Apple's first choice for foundry in the short term to maintain product consistency.
Facing TSMC's monopolistic position, Liu Pei-chen said that Intel is actively promoting its Intel 18A process and hopes to attract Apple to release some non-core chip orders through its foundry service model and US government subsidy policies. Samsung, on the other hand, hopes to seize an opportunity to overtake with its early advantage in 2nm GAA technology.
However, Liu Pei-chen also pointed out that in the past, TSMC's competitors often encountered problems with excessive power consumption or unstable yield during mass production, leading to multiple missed business opportunities. To break the current deadlock, in addition to narrowing the technology generation gap, drastic geopolitical fluctuations may also become one of the influencing factors.
Liu Pei-chen emphasized that TSMC's leading position is difficult to shake due to its stable delivery record and extensive R&D moat. For Apple, prematurely shifting core orders to other suppliers would face enormous supply chain disruption risks.
She believes that in the current industry landscape, Intel and Samsung still act more as 'strategic reserves' for Apple, rather than primary foundry partners that can immediately replace TSMC.
Li Fang-kuo, Chairman of Uni-President Investment Consulting, told the Central News Agency that Apple's order diversification is not due to TSMC's poor products, but because TSMC's advanced processes, such as 2nm, are in strong demand, and its capacity is occupied by large AI chip customers like NVIDIA, making it unable to meet Apple's needs. Therefore, Apple can only turn to other vendors like Intel or Samsung, reflecting its passive position in the supply chain.
Li Fang-kuo analyzed that in the past, Apple sought second suppliers to diversify risks or increase bargaining power, which was a buyer's market; the current situation is a seller's market, with TSMC's capacity unable to meet demand, highlighting its exclusive supply position in advanced processes.
Li Fang-kuo observed that under capacity constraints, TSMC's short-term revenue growth mainly relies on two directions: first, increasing the proportion of high-end processes, and second, the effect of product price increases. In the future, as new factory capacities are gradually brought online globally, TSMC is expected to usher in a new round of growth, and the market does not need to over-interpret Apple's order diversification negatively. (Editor: Tsai Su-jung) 1150510
Choose to stand with facts, your every sponsorship is the power to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency 'First-Hand News' APP to grasp the latest news in real time.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.
(Central News Agency reporter Wu Chia-hao, Taipei 10th) Foreign media reported that Apple and Intel have reached an initial agreement for Intel to produce some chips for Apple devices. Semiconductor industry experts point out that TSMC, with its leading advanced packaging technology, stable process yield and delivery record, and extensive R&D moat, will still make it difficult for Apple to shift flagship chip orders to Intel in the short term, and TSMC remains Apple's preferred foundry partner.
The Wall Street Journal reported on the 8th, citing informed sources, that Apple and Intel had been in intensive negotiations for over a year and finalized a formal agreement in recent months. It is currently unclear which Apple products Intel will manufacture chips for. Bloomberg reported last week that Apple had also held preliminary discussions with Samsung regarding processor production.
Liu Pei-chen, Director of the Industrial Economics Database at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, told the Central News Agency today that TSMC's developed fan-out integrated (InFO) and CoWoS advanced packaging technologies are core to the excellent performance of Apple's M-series and A-series chips. In comparison, Samsung and Intel's performance at the same process level, whether in chip yield or power consumption, currently cannot meet Apple's stringent commercial standards.
Liu Pei-chen analyzed that there is a deep technological binding between Apple and TSMC, which has become a difficult barrier for competitors to overcome. Unless competitors can achieve a leap-forward technological breakthrough in 2nm process or more advanced Gate-All-Around (GAA) architecture, TSMC will remain Apple's first choice for foundry in the short term to maintain product consistency.
Facing TSMC's monopolistic position, Liu Pei-chen said that Intel is actively promoting its Intel 18A process and hopes to attract Apple to release some non-core chip orders through its foundry service model and US government subsidy policies. Samsung, on the other hand, hopes to seize an opportunity to overtake with its early advantage in 2nm GAA technology.
However, Liu Pei-chen also pointed out that in the past, TSMC's competitors often encountered problems with excessive power consumption or unstable yield during mass production, leading to multiple missed business opportunities. To break the current deadlock, in addition to narrowing the technology generation gap, drastic geopolitical fluctuations may also become one of the influencing factors.
Liu Pei-chen emphasized that TSMC's leading position is difficult to shake due to its stable delivery record and extensive R&D moat. For Apple, prematurely shifting core orders to other suppliers would face enormous supply chain disruption risks.
She believes that in the current industry landscape, Intel and Samsung still act more as 'strategic reserves' for Apple, rather than primary foundry partners that can immediately replace TSMC.
Li Fang-kuo, Chairman of Uni-President Investment Consulting, told the Central News Agency that Apple's order diversification is not due to TSMC's poor products, but because TSMC's advanced processes, such as 2nm, are in strong demand, and its capacity is occupied by large AI chip customers like NVIDIA, making it unable to meet Apple's needs. Therefore, Apple can only turn to other vendors like Intel or Samsung, reflecting its passive position in the supply chain.
Li Fang-kuo analyzed that in the past, Apple sought second suppliers to diversify risks or increase bargaining power, which was a buyer's market; the current situation is a seller's market, with TSMC's capacity unable to meet demand, highlighting its exclusive supply position in advanced processes.
Li Fang-kuo observed that under capacity constraints, TSMC's short-term revenue growth mainly relies on two directions: first, increasing the proportion of high-end processes, and second, the effect of product price increases. In the future, as new factory capacities are gradually brought online globally, TSMC is expected to usher in a new round of growth, and the market does not need to over-interpret Apple's order diversification negatively. (Editor: Tsai Su-jung) 1150510
Choose to stand with facts, your every sponsorship is the power to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency 'First-Hand News' APP to grasp the latest news in real time.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.