Intel could soon be making almost everything for Apple according to reports

Apple and Intel reportedly reached a preliminary manufacturing deal for next gen chips on iPhones and Macs.

It had long been rumored that Apple was planning to ditch Intel chips with reports going back to 2012. Such rumors finally started becoming more believable around 2018 when reliable reports began confirming that Apple's in-house silicon was indeed coming to replace those on Macs. The last of them were the 2020 MacBooks which recently entered the "vintage" status.

While Apple may not be using Intel CPUs again anytime soon, there has been buzz in the industry recently that Apple is making a return to Intel in some form; and now a report from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) says that it is indeed happening, and that the "preliminary chip-making agreement" has been done.

According to the report, this agreement could see Intel manufacture chips for future Apple devices even while the agreement reportedly remains in its early stages. Apparently the discussions are said to have been ongoing for more than a year before recently progressing into a formal arrangement.

Hence the deal would not necessarily mean Apple is abandoning its own silicon designs; instead, Intel could act as a manufacturing partner for some future chips to help Apple diversify production beyond its long-standing reliance on TSMC.

The news comes at a time when global chip demand continues to rise sharply, particularly due to the expansion of AI-focused computing and increasing pressure on semiconductor supply chains worldwide. Apple is no exception to this and it too, like everyone else, has been overpaying for memory.

For Intel, the reported agreement could give a major boost to its foundry ambitions as the company has spent the past several years attempting to rebuild its chip manufacturing business. Securing Apple as a manufacturing client, even in a limited capacity, would likely be viewed as a significant milestone and thus it's a win-win situation for both.

As far as what exactly could Intel be cooking up for Apple, tech commentator and X user, Max Weinbach, suggests that it could be the "base A21 for base iPhone 19/19e or M7/M8 base chip," although realistically, it may be too early to say. This means Intel could potentially be making everything for Apple in the near future.

Source: WSJ via Max Weinbach (X)

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Posted Saturday 9 May 2026 at 7:17 am AEST (my time).

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