Apple Continuing Work on M2 Chip With Help From Samsung

Apple is continuing its work on the upcoming "M2" chip with help from Samsung Electro-Mechanics, ET News reports.

m2 feature
Samsung Electro-Mechanics supplies the flip chip ball grid array (FC-BGA), a printed circuit board used to connect the semiconductor chip to the main substrate, for the M1 chip. This detail did not emerge until almost a year after the ‌M1‌ chip was introduced, when it was uncovered by The Elec.

While the ‌M1‌, like all of Apple's custom silicon SoCs, is fabricated exclusively by Taiwan's TSMC, the chip includes components from several suppliers. For example, the chip's board is supplied by Ibiden and Unimicron, so it is necessary for Apple to coordinate multiple suppliers for its next-generation SoC for the Mac.

According to today's report from ET News, Samsung is expected to continue to provide the FC-BGA for the ‌M2‌. The company is said to be collaborating with Apple in a project to develop the ‌M2‌ chip and will complete work on the FC-BGA for it this year.

Apple purportedly began developing the ‌M2‌ immediately after introducing the ‌M1‌ chip. The report reiterated Mark Gurman's claim that Apple is testing at least nine new Macs with four different ‌M2‌ chip variants, and that the first devices with the ‌M2‌ could debut in the first half of 2022. The chip could first be introduced in Apple's redesigned MacBook Air.

Popular Stories

Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Battery Capacity and Weight Allegedly Revealed

Monday May 19, 2025 2:22 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air later this year, and while there have been plenty of rumors about the camera's overall design and thinness, we haven't heard any details about the device's weight and battery capacity until now. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air has a weight ...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
WWDC 2025 Banner

Apple Announces WWDC 2025 Schedule, Including Keynote Time

Tuesday May 20, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced a more detailed schedule for its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 9 through June 13. The schedule confirms that Apple's keynote will begin on Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream to be available on Apple.com, in the Apple TV app, and on YouTube. During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16,...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Apple Says These Vehicle Brands Plan to Offer All-New CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, customizable widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can also adjust...
Apple Intelligence General Feature

Report: Apple's Next-Gen Version of Siri Is 'On Par' With ChatGPT

Monday May 19, 2025 9:00 am PDT by
Apple has big plans to improve Siri over the next few years, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett report. Some Apple executives are now reportedly pushing to turn Siri into a true ChatGPT competitor. A next-generation, chatbot version of Siri has reportedly made significant progress during testing over the past six months; some executives allegedly now see it as "on par" with recent...
iOS 18 Siri Personal Context

Apple Will Reportedly Be More Cautious About Announcing New Features Well in Advance

Sunday May 18, 2025 2:50 pm PDT by
Apple plans to mostly stop announcing new features more than a few months before they are ready to launch, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett. The pair of reporters revealed this noteworthy tidbit towards the bottom of a lengthy report about Apple's artificial intelligence shortcomings today. This alleged change in strategy comes after Apple was forced to delay its more...

Top Rated Comments

EugW Avatar
40 months ago

Apple purportedly began developing the M2 immediately after introducing the M1 chip.
I'm sure Apple began developing M2 long before the M1 was publicly introduced.


Samsung for years has been talking about creating their own chips for a variety of devices, but somehow always seems to be just a fabricator for other companies. I wonder what keeps holding them back.
??

Samsung has been producing their own chips for many, many years. In fact, the first iPhones used Samsung CPUs.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IIGS User Avatar
40 months ago
Samsung is a giant company, and their work for Apple generates a lot of revenue for them.

Apple gets a reliable producer, while Samsung gets a good customer. Both do well on the transaction.

Sometimes people see the differences or "rivalries" between companies in the same light as sports teams or politicians.

This simply isn't the case with corporations. What works, works, and what doesn't doesn't. Apple, Samsung, and TSMC work well together to get things "done". As someone stated upthread, Samsung has been a major supplier for Apple for a long time now.

I'm sure Logistics Tim recognizes the "if it aint broke don't fix it" aspect of the relationship, and continues to do business with Samsung because it's good business, and business is good.....
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dugbug Avatar
40 months ago
This is a weird title. They are providing the BGA, something they do for lots of manufacturers. This has nothing to do with the M2 other than hey, the M2 is a 'chip'.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hagjohn Avatar
40 months ago
I do not believe for a minute that they started working on M2 right after M1 was released. Something as complicated as Mx SOC would take years to plan and they would have a working roadmap where they are developing multiple SOCs years ahead of time.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
40 months ago
Apple is probably Samsung’s biggest client. It looks like the transition to the Apple Silicon Chip is going smooth.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
krspkbl Avatar
40 months ago
this is why fanboyism is stupid. these huge companies don't give a **** about you defending them on the internet. apple + samsung get on fine with each other.

i'm looking forward to M2. not that i can ****ing afford any of Apple's Macs. at best i'll pick up an iPad with one in it to replace my M1 iPad
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)