Intel has yet to confirm a single leading-edge customer for 18A, and any commitment from Apple would be a best-case scenario in terms of securing the validation the company both desperately wants and needs. The U.S. government holds a 10% stake in Intel, and its shares rose as much as 9% in premarket trading on the news, extending a run that has lifted the stock 464% over the past 12 months to a market cap of $608.7 billion.
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usertests Before that, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and GF Securities outlined the likely scope: Apple's M7 SoC built on Intel's 18A-P process, powering the MacBook Air and entry-level iPad Pro, with mass production targeted for late 2027. That's an important chip. Can they get it from both foundries or do they have to toss one "low-end" thing (M7 die size should be relatively small) into the Intel bucket? Reply
alchemy69 "Trump says…" is usually a good indication that nothing of the kind ever happened. Reply
TerryLaze alchemy69 said: "Trump says…" is usually a good indication that nothing of the kind ever happened. He stole part of intel…it makes sense, even for trump, to force apple to give intel money since a part of that will be going towards the gov. Reply
thestryker usertests said: Can they get it from both foundries or do they have to toss one "low-end" thing (M7 die size should be relatively small) into the Intel bucket? With Intel using industry standard tools these days it should be much easier to have a design which works on both with minimal modification. That being said I really think Apple would try to take advantage of BSPDN if their goal was seeing how Intel does since it's a fundamental advantage they bring to the table right now. I'm still very concerned about Intel's fab capacity because of how much the buildouts have slowed. They have plenty of floor space, but I don't know what the EUV plan is due to the infinite backlog from ASML. I would like to think that this was accounted for last year, but I also wouldn't count on it. Reply
DS426 I would have to look back at the timing in history, but off-hand, couldn't we saw one thing that helped Intel start to fall was their loss of CPU business with Apple? Too big to fail as usual. I mean, would Apple go to Intel if there was no outside pressure? I'm sure they were looking at 18A in seriousness, but Apple needs VERY strong assurances on production numbers and timelines, something they'll happily pay for and have been getting with TSMC for many years now. As @thestryker mentioned, it takes many years for new advanced and leading-edge fab to come online, not to mention mind-blowing CapEx costs. What is Intel's walk on making sure they have enough supply for 1st-party AI/DC first, Intel client compute 2nd, and then presumable others third? Hasn't Intel said themselves that they've been somewhat supply constrained from IFS in recent quarters? I don't see how AI-related CPU demand upticks releases any pressure, even if IFS has brought any new production (besides 18A) online. Reply
usertests DS426 said: I would have to look back at the timing in history, but off-hand, couldn't we saw one thing that helped Intel start to fall was their loss of CPU business with Apple? You could say 14nm++++++++++++ missteps, 10nm misfire were the start, losing Apple was merely a symptom. Multiple years of no efficiency/graphics improvements made them a tough sell for Apple. I'm not sure the loss of Apple revenue has mattered as much as bleeding in the server market (attacked by AMD and ARM) and having to shovel lots of cash into Foundry. I think Intel is getting back on track with some strong releases (Lunar Lake, Panther/Wildcat, Nova Lake) and if they don't have to spin off Foundry to do it, it will be a miracle. DS426 said: Too big to fail as usual. I mean, would Apple go to Intel if there was no outside pressure? I'm sure they were looking at 18A in seriousness, but Apple needs VERY strong assurances on production numbers and timelines, something they'll happily pay for and have been getting with TSMC for many years now. I think there are lots of serious looks at Intel because of the current desperate AI situation. Pressure wasn't needed. Intel may have sufficiently proven 18A works with Panther Lake, with 18A-P and 14A actually reaching external customers. Reply
QuarterSwede So in a day or so after he and his cronies make a killing on the Intel stock raise, he’ll say something like, “I didn’t say Apple was building devices in America.” And he and his cronies will all make money on shorting the stock falling too. Typical disgusting Trump grift. Reply
Key considerations
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- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/trump-says-apple-agreed-to-build-chips-with-intel#main
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.