Apple Intel Chips: Test Production Has Begun, Says Kuo

The story of who actually builds the chips inside your iPhone has been simple for almost a decade. Since 2016, every Apple-designed processor in an iPhone, iPad or Mac has been fabricated by TSMC in Taiwan. That run might be coming to an end. According to a new report from supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Intel has started small-scale test production of some lower-end Apple Intel chips, with bigger volumes expected through 2027 and 2028.

This is a bigger deal than the headlines make it sound, but probably not in the way most people assume. So let me unpack what was actually said, what is realistic, and what it means for the devices you might buy in a year or two.

What Ming-Chi Kuo Actually Said

Kuo, the analyst with the strongest track record on Apple's supply chain, posted on X that Intel has "kicked off" early-stage testing of Apple chip fabrication. The chips in question are for the lower end of Apple's iPhone, iPad and Mac line-ups. He did not name a specific A-series or M-series chip, which matters more than people are giving it credit for. We are not talking about the chip in an iPhone 17 Pro, or the M5 Max powering a top-tier MacBook Pro. Those stay with TSMC.

Apple is reportedly using Intel's 18A process for these chips, and is also assessing Intel's other advanced-node options. The number worth holding onto: TSMC will still handle more than 90% of Apple's chip output. This is a diversification play, not a divorce.

Why Apple Would Add Intel as a Second Source

There are two threads running through this, and both are pragmatic rather than emotional.

The first is leverage and resilience. When you have one supplier for the single most expensive component in your phone, you have no negotiating power and no backup plan. TSMC has handled itself well, but a second qualified fab gives Apple room to push on price, prioritise supply during shortages, and keep production moving if anything disrupts Taiwan. Anyone who watched the 2020 and 2021 chip shortages knows how exposed even Apple was.

The second is politics. The Trump administration has been vocal about wanting more semiconductor manufacturing on US soil, and Intel's fabs in Arizona and Ohio are the highest-profile American option. A meaningful Apple-Intel partnership would be a tidy story for the White House, and would also give Apple genuine US-manufactured silicon to point to. Apple has been quietly reshaping its supply strategy for a while now, as I covered in the recent Mac mini price hike, so this fits the broader pattern.

Which Apple Devices Could Get Intel-Made Chips

The phrasing in Kuo's note is the most useful tell here. Lower-end iPhone, iPad and Mac. Read that carefully.

On the iPhone side, that points to chips destined for products like the iPhone 17e, the iPhone 16 generation kept on the catalogue, or whatever sits at the bottom of the iPhone 18 line-up. Not the Pro models, and almost certainly not the rumoured iPhone Fold.

On the iPad side, it lines up with the base iPad and possibly the iPad mini, where Apple typically uses a slightly older or cut-down chip. Not the iPad Pro.

On the Mac side, this is where it gets interesting. The base M-series chips, the ones in the entry-level MacBook Air or the cheapest Mac mini, are the natural candidates. Whether that touches any of Apple's current M5 Mac plans is unclear, but Kuo's timeline points more towards M6 or M7 generation parts.

How This Differs From the Old Intel Mac Era

This is where a lot of people are going to get confused, so it is worth being precise.

Between 2006 and 2020, Apple shipped Macs with Intel-designed processors running x86 architecture. Apple bought the chip, Intel built the chip, and Intel decided what the chip could do. That era ended when Apple moved Macs over to Apple Silicon, starting with the M1 in late 2020.

What is being discussed now is something entirely different. These would be Apple-designed chips, using Apple's own architecture and instruction set, that simply happen to be fabricated in an Intel facility. Intel would be a contract manufacturer, in the same way TSMC is today. There is no return to x86. There is no shared roadmap. The design comes from Cupertino, the silicon comes out of an Intel fab.

If you want a useful analogy, think of TSMC and Intel as two different printing presses for the same book. The author has not changed.

When You Might Actually Get an Intel-Made Apple Chip

Kuo's timeline puts production ramping through 2027 and 2028. Translation: nothing in 2026 will be affected, and the first devices with Intel-fabbed Apple silicon are likely to land in the 2027 to 2028 product cycles.

That assumes a few things. Intel's 18A process has to deliver in terms of yield and performance. Apple has to be satisfied with the result during qualification. And the geopolitical and commercial case for the deal needs to remain intact for another 18 to 24 months. None of those are guaranteed, but Kuo does not normally surface things this early without strong sourcing.

A useful question to ask: would you be able to tell which fab made the chip in your phone? Almost certainly not. Apple will optimise for performance parity across both sources, the way every other large fabless chip company already does.

What It Means If You Are Buying Apple Hardware Now

Practically, very little changes in the short term. The iPhone you buy this autumn and the Mac you buy this year are still TSMC silicon. Performance, battery life and thermals will not shift because Intel enters the picture later. If you have been weighing up an iPhone 17 Pro or one of the new M5 machines, this report is not a reason to pause.

What it does suggest is that Apple's manufacturing base is getting wider and more political. That has knock-on effects for pricing, availability and where products are physically made. None of that is bad for consumers. A more resilient supply chain usually means fewer shocks and better stock when new models launch. If you want a longer read on how Apple's chip strategy is shaping up, my piece on how Apple could have saved the Mac Pro goes into more detail on the Apple Silicon roadmap.

The takeaway is simple. Apple is not abandoning TSMC, it is hedging. And by the time you can actually buy a phone with an Intel-made chip in it, you probably will not notice or care which factory it came from. That, on Apple's terms, is exactly the point.

Source: Kuo's report via MacRumors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Apple ditching TSMC for Intel?

No. Kuo's report makes clear that TSMC will continue to manufacture more than 90% of Apple's chips. Intel is being added as a second source for some lower-end chips, not as a replacement.

Are Intel-made Apple chips coming to the iPhone 17 or M5 Macs?

Not based on the current reporting. Production is expected to ramp through 2027 and 2028, which puts the earliest affected products in the iPhone 18 or 19 cycle and the M6 or M7 Mac generations.

Will Intel be designing the chips inside iPhones?

No. The chips would still be Apple-designed, using Apple's own architecture. Intel's role would be limited to fabrication, similar to TSMC's role today. There is no return to the old Intel Mac era.