When Apple broke up with Intel and began making its own industry-leading silicon processors in 2020, the split looked final. But a new rumor suggests the two companies could work together again, just in a very different capacity.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that Intel could start manufacturing Apple's lowest-end M-series chips by mid-2027 using Intel's 18A process, which is the "earliest available sub-2nm advanced node manufactured in North America."
The timing suggests Intel could potentially produce M6 or M7 chips for MacBook Air and iPad models. The big difference however is that they would still be Apple-designed chips using Arm architecture, rather than based on Intel's x86 processors. Intel would just be making them for Apple, just like TSMC currently does.
Why the reunion? Apple appears eager to placate the Trump administration's "Made in USA" push by diversifying its chip manufacturing away from Taiwan-based TSMC, which would continue handling the majority of Apple's silicon production.
For Apple, it's a way to appease political pressure while maintaining its control over chip design, and it should cost relatively little, since base-model chips represent a small fraction of total orders.
Apple has already made it clear that macOS Tahoe will be the final major macOS release that supports Intel-based Macs with x86 architecture, suggesting Intel's comeback – while head-turning on the surface – would be more symbolic than substantive.
