Apple Looking to Samsung and Intel for Chips Amid Shortages, Report Says
It may be the largest consumer technology company in the world, but even Apple sometimes has to look elsewhere when items on its shopping list just aren’t available.
This appears to be the reason why Apple is considering other semiconductor suppliers, including Samsung and Intel, as the current chip shortage threatens the company’s supply chain, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Apple designs system-on-a-chip processors that its main supplier, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, builds for many of its devices. But if TSMC fails to keep pace with global shortages caused by demand for AI and data centers, Apple may need to consider other options.
According to the report, Apple has yet to place any major orders, but is in talks with Samsung and Intel, and executives have even visited a Samsung factory under construction in Texas. It could walk away from potential deals with the two chip contenders, especially if there are technical problems with other companies’ switch to silicon.
Representatives for Apple, Samsung and Intel did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for TSMC declined to comment.
Samsung announced a nearly 50-fold increase last week increase in revenues in semiconductorsdriven by increased demand and increasingly tight global supplies.
Aside from supply chain issues, Apple also has an incentive to shift some of its supply to companies producing chips in the United States. Tech companies, including Apple, are under pressure from the Trump administration to relocate manufacturing operations or source parts from companies doing business in the United States.
Apple previously moved some manufacturing or assembly of certain Macs in the United States. During a trade war last year that imposed tariffs on China, it changed some of its component supplies to countries like India and Vietnam.
