Apple and Intel are reportedly set to rekindle their chip partnership

Macworld

One of the most significant Apple announcements of recent years was the news, back in 2020, that the entire Mac lineup would transition from Intel processors to ARM-based chips of Apple’s own design. The result of this potentially risky move was a second lease of life for the Mac, and a moderate dip in Intel’s fortunes.

But years after the last Intel Mac transitioned to Apple silicon, the former partners may be looking for a way to rekindle their relationship. On Friday, respected industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed on Twitter/X that Intel is now expected to take on a role within Apple’s processor supply chain within the next two years.

“My latest industry surveys,” he writes, “indicate that visibility on Intel becoming an advanced-node supplier to Apple has recently improved significantly… Apple’s plan is for Intel to begin shipping its lowest-end M processor, utilizing the 18AP advanced node, as early as [the second or third quarter of 2027], but the actual timeline remains contingent on development progress.”

On that timeline, the chips in question could feasibly be the M6 or M7, but clearly, this isn’t a return to the way things were. An advanced-node foundry supplier is a demotion from Intel’s former position as the main supplier of Mac chips. Rather, Intel would now be a manufacturing contract, not one involving design. Apple won’t be using Intel chips. Intel will be supplying Apple with chips of its own design.

In any case, as Kuo points out, this in itself is a relatively minor change for Apple, Intel, and current chip supplier TSMC, because the lowest-end M chip (used in the MacBook Air, iPad Air, and iPad Pro) is expected to account for only around 15–20 million units in 2026 and 2027. TSMC will still be delivering most of Apple’s chips and all of the high-end ones.

But it may signal intent to make bigger shifts in the future. Apple, Kuo claims, wishes to become less dependent on TSMC, not least because of the risk of tariff activity. (TSMC is based in Taiwan, while Intel is headquartered in California.) And that means Intel could secure more Apple contracts as the Cupertino firm looks to diversity its supply chain and future-proof against political or economic uncertainty.