May 4 (Reuters) – Apple has held exploratory discussions about using Intel and Samsung Electronics to produce the main processors for its devices, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the deliberations.
Apple executives have made visits to a Samsung plant under development in Texas and, separately, also held preliminary talks with Intel about enlisting the company’s chipmaking services, Bloomberg reported.
While the move would offer Apple a secondary option beyond its longtime partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the iPhone-maker is also concerned about using non-TSMC technology, the report said, citing worries about reliability and scale.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Apple and Samsung did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Intel declined to comment.
Discussions with Samsung and Intel remain at early stages as neither effort has resulted in any orders so far, the report said.
Apple warned of continuing chip supply constraints when it reported results last month. iPhone sales were held back in the quarter by supply constraints for the advanced processor chips that form the brains of the device, then-CEO Tim Cook had said.
The iPhone 17-family’s chips are made on a variant of the same TSMC chip manufacturing technology as many leading AI chips.
(Reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
