'Made in America' Apple Silicon to Lag Behind Taiwan's Output

Apple's custom silicon chips will begin to be manufactured in the United States at an accelerated pace as TSMC adjusts its timelines, although the chips produced domestically will be limited to older models for the foreseeable future, Nikkei Asia reports.

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Exclusive Apple chip supplier TSMC has confirmed that future fabrication facilities in the United States will be brought online more quickly than its first Arizona-based plant, which was beset by delays. TSMC now expects new U.S. plants to take no more than two years to complete, a significant improvement over the five-year timeline required for its initial facility. Despite the expedited pace, the chips produced in these new plants will not power Apple's latest models, as the most advanced fabrication processes will remain exclusive to TSMC's operations in Taiwan.

The company's first U.S. plant, located in Phoenix, Arizona, began construction in 2020 and is expected to begin production in 2025. This facility is configured to produce chips using TSMC's N4 process, which is part of the broader 5-nanometer node family. This generation includes the A16 Bionic chip, originally introduced in 2022 with the iPhone 14 Pro and later used in the ‌iPhone‌ 15, ‌iPhone‌ 15 Plus, and the latest entry-level iPad. The S9 chip used in the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is also an N4 chip. These chips are no longer at the top of Apple's product line technologically and their production today simply supports continued manufacturing of the company's older or lower-end models.

TSMC has announced plans for a second Arizona plant that will support production of 3-nanometer chips, currently the most advanced node in mass production and used for chips like the A17 Pro, M3, A18, and M4. However, this second facility will not begin operations until 2028, at which point Apple's mainstream devices will likely have moved to 2-nanometer or more advanced silicon.

A third facility, expected to produce chips with the 2-nanometer process, is planned for completion before the end of the decade, though TSMC has not committed to a specific timeline beyond "before 2030." Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects the first 2nm Apple chip to be the "A20," debuting in the iPhone 18 lineup next year, again suggesting that the U.S. chips will lag well behind the technological requirements of future high-end Apple devices.

The disparity between US and Taiwanese chip production timelines is partially a result of TSMC's longstanding technical and organizational infrastructure in Taiwan, where all research and development continues to take place. The company's semiconductor dominance is also considered by some analysts to act as a "silicon shield," deterring potential military aggression from China by making Taiwan's stability a matter of international economic importance.

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Top Rated Comments

jarman92 Avatar
7 months ago

I don’t like tariffs but I understand why countries put them to protect jobs. Japan, Europe, Australia, etc have them.

Since US is such a big market, companies will have to build and employ locally to enjoy such big market.
Or they'll just pay the tariffs and pass them onto American consumers. Which is exactly what they're going to do.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ifxf Avatar
7 months ago
All of TSMC development work will still take place in Taiwan. The US is just a third world manufacturing location.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ForkHandles Avatar
7 months ago

I don’t like tariffs but I understand why countries put them to protect jobs. Japan, Europe, Australia, etc have them.

Since US is such a big market, companies will have to build and employ locally to enjoy such big market.
This is true.

However in the meantime citizens will have to pay massive tax hikes if they want to have choice in the market place.

For very good reasons tariffs used to be common place globally but have been largely reduced over the decades.

The orange man’s wild picking of tariff numbers out of the air will only ever harm your own importers and exporters in the short medium term.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
anthogag Avatar
7 months ago
Taiwan is in a difficult spot and the "silicon shield" is a real thing. China is forced to develop its domestic chip capability due to sanctions and when it is satisfied it could attack Taiwan. Dictator Donald may throw Taiwan under the bus and let China invade Taiwan because Donald, like another Putin, wants to takeover Greenland and the Panama Canal. A USA democracy would not forcibly takeover Greenland and Panama Canal, a USA dictatorship would.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jarman92 Avatar
7 months ago

Me too, I feel like there is a better way to encourage American manufacturing. Props to TSMC to moving some production to here in the US.
There is, and Biden was doing it (see, e.g., the CHIPS and Science Act, which Trump wants to repeal). Unfortunately American voters don't care about or understand such things.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ForkHandles Avatar
7 months ago

Have they been though? The Europeans are exceptionally fond of VATs which are charged to an import just like a tariff a tariff would be. Yes I know there is a lot of arguing the opposite, that VATs apply to all sales, however, domestic producers get to deduct that VAT already paid by previous stages. Importers don't.

"To calculate the amount of value added tax that must be paid at each stage, take the VAT amount at the latest stage of production and subtract the VAT that's already been paid. It prevents double taxation and ensures that buyers at each stage get reimbursed for the VAT they've previously paid."

It's pretty muddy.
VAT is our Sales tax. It only gets paid by the final purchaser of the goods.

Although the rates are different it works the same as Sales tax in the USA. The only difference is that Europeans include vat in the sale price, Americans leave it until the till.

Import taxes and duties are completely different to sales taxes. The consumer pays them to their government.

Indiscriminate tariffs with numbers pulled out of orifices will only ever harm all importers and exporters.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)