Petteri Pyyny
10 May 2026 15:50
Apple may be returning as a client to its old partner Intel in chip manufacturing. According to several sources, the companies have signed a preliminary agreement under which Intel would begin manufacturing some of the processors used in Apple's devices. The news was first reported by Bloomberg, and the existence of the agreement has since been confirmed by sources including The Wall Street Journal and Engadget.
The agreement is the result of negotiations lasting over a year, which have gradually progressed towards concrete cooperation. According to sources, this is a so-called foundry model: Apple designs its own Arm-architecture-based chips, and Intel manufactures them on its own production lines, similar to how Taiwanese TSMC does for current Apple Silicon chips. It is not yet clear which products Intel-manufactured chips would end up in, but estimates suggest that it could initially be for more affordable M-series chips, and later possibly also for iPhone chipsets.
In recent years, Apple has relied almost entirely on Taiwanese TSMC's manufacturing processes for the production of all its own chipsets. However, the company has repeatedly emphasized its desire to diversify its supply chain so that it is not so tied to one supplier - and potential problems with that company. In its latest earnings release, CEO Tim Cook stated that the availability of iPhone 17 models was limited because Apple did not receive enough A19 and A19 Pro chips from TSMC. The fierce demand from AI servers and clients like Nvidia has tied up a significant portion of TSMC's capacity, which has weakened Apple's negotiating position and increased the need for alternative manufacturers.
For Intel, the agreement would be a significant step in revitalizing the company's foundry business. The company still manufactures its own x86 processors but has actively sought to expand into contract manufacturing for other designers in recent years.
The former giant company has been in a bad state of decline in recent years: it was even briefly at the center of rumors where Qualcomm, known for mobile chips, was interested in acquiring Intel. Intel's situation became peculiar in 2025 when the Trump administration "seized" a 10% stake in the company, without paying a single cent for it.
Behind the scenes, there may be a struggle by the United States to strengthen its own semiconductor industry. Now that Intel is partly owned by the US government, the Trump administration has poured vast amounts of money into improving its competitiveness. At the same time, the US government has strongly pressured American technology companies to favor American firms in their supply chains - including Intel. For Apple, an agreement with Intel offers an opportunity not only to diversify production risk but also to strengthen its relationship with the US government at a time when semiconductor supply security has become a strategic issue.
Intel and Apple's relationship was at its best in the early 2010s when Apple's computers had successfully transitioned from the earlier PowerPC architecture to Intel's x86 architecture. But over the years, the companies' cooperation suffered various setbacks - and largely led to a rift in 2020 when Apple unveiled its own M1 processor and announced it was abandoning Intel's x86 architecture in its computers.