Taipei: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is expected to remain Apple’s primary chip manufacturing partner despite reports that Apple could shift some orders to Intel, Taiwanese industry experts said Sunday.

According to Focus Taiwan, the comments came after The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Apple and Intel had reached a preliminary agreement following more than a year of negotiations for Intel to manufacture some chips for Apple devices.

Liu Pei-chen, an economist with the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, stated that TSMC’s advanced packaging technologies, including InFO and CoWoS, remain crucial to the performance of Apple’s A-series and M-series chips. She indicated that Intel and Samsung Electronics still lag behind TSMC in areas such as chip yields and power efficiency, making it challenging for Apple to move flagship chip orders away from the Taiwanese foundry in the near term.

Liu further explained that Apple and TSMC have developed deep technological ties over the ye
ars, creating a high barrier for competitors. According to her, unless rivals achieve major breakthroughs in 2-nanometer or gate-all-around (GAA) technologies, TSMC is expected to remain Apple’s preferred manufacturing partner.

While Intel is advancing its Intel 18A process and Samsung is exploring opportunities through its 2nm GAA technology, Liu noted that both companies have previously faced issues such as unstable yields and excessive power consumption during large-scale production. She emphasized that TSMC’s leading position remains challenging to contest due to its stable delivery record and extensive research and development capabilities. For Apple, shifting core chip orders too early could pose significant supply chain risks.

President Capital Management Co. Chairman Li Fang-kuo also commented that Apple’s reported move was not due to problems with TSMC’s technology, but rather because strong demand for advanced processes from artificial intelligence chip customers such as NVIDIA has tightened TSMC’
s production capacity. Li pointed out that the situation reflects TSMC’s dominant position in advanced chip manufacturing, with demand currently exceeding supply across the industry.