Last week The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple and Intel had struck a deal to produce chips. Now analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says in an X post that Intel has already started work on processors for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
He says the smartphone is getting most of the processors: 80%. Kuo says Apple is also actively evaluating Intel’s other advanced-node technologies.
“Apple began discussions with Intel well before TSMC’s advanced-node capacity became tight,” he writes. “Apple recognizes that TSMC’s resources will continue tilting toward AI.”
It’s easy to see why Apple is concerned and considering various options. Memory prices are likely to 20% or more this year, according to Counterpoint Research’s Memory Solutions for GenAI report.
One of the key issues is legacy LPDDR4 supply tightness brought on by suppliers shifting output to more advanced chips to service AI demand, which is distorting markets. Spot price imbalances are occurring, with DDR5 for servers and PCs trading at around $1.50 per gigabit, while older DDR4 used in consumer electronics fetches $2.10 – higher than that of even advanced HBM3e, which is hovering around $1.70.
One example of the problem: in an earnings call last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that Mac mini and Mac Studio supply is constrained. He said it could take “several months” for Apple to achieve supply-demand balance. Counterpoint forecasts DRAM production increases exceeding 20% in 2026 across all key chipmakers.
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