Intel has already started small-scale production of iPhone, iPad, and Mac chips for Apple, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today, marking the first concrete sign that Apple is breaking TSMC's decade-long monopoly on its silicon.
Kuo posted on X that Intel "kicked off" low-end and legacy processor fabrication using its 18A process with Foveros packaging. Production is still tiny in 2026, but Kuo's timeline shows a ramp in 2027, continued growth through 2028, and decline in 2029 as the 18A-P series runs its lifecycle. The order split favors the iPhone heavily. Roughly 80% of Intel's Apple wafer plans go to smartphone chips, mirroring Apple's device sales mix.
Kuo did not specify which A-series or M-series chips Intel is making, only describing them as "low-end/legacy" models still on sale.
Apple is also actively evaluating Intel's other advanced-node technologies, according to Kuo, signaling the partnership could deepen beyond 18A. The move is about supply chain insurance as much as cost savings. Apple began discussions with Intel "well before TSMC's advanced-node capacity became tight," Kuo wrote, adding that Apple recognizes TSMC's resources "will continue tilting toward AI." The AI boom is distorting memory markets and squeezing capacity for consumer chips.
Last week, Tim Cook acknowledged Mac mini and Mac Studio supply constraints, warning it could take "several months" to balance supply and demand.
TSMC is not losing its crown. Kuo said Taiwan's chipmaker will still "retain over 90% of supply share" once Intel's operations are fully running.
Intel's role is strictly fabrication of Apple-designed chips, not chip design. That distinction matters: the Intel Mac era (which Apple ended in 2020) used Intel-designed x86 processors.
This is Apple silicon built by Intel in the U.S.
Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported Apple and Intel had struck a deal. Kuo, who first reported the renewed partnership last fall, is now confirming production has started.
Apple has yet to make an official announcement.
