Apple currently purchases all of its chips that are manufactured in Taiwan, but such plans are never set in stone, and there is always an opportunity to diversify for various reasons. One report believes that the technology giant will start acquiring these chips from a U.S. plant as early as next year.
Unnamed Chip Manufacturing Plant Expected to Be Located in Arizona, Apple Could Extend Sourcing to Europe in the Future if Necessary
The update comes from Bloomberg, with Apple CEO Tim Cook having confirmed his plans to start sourcing chips for various products from the U.S. as soon as 2024. The plant is expected to be located in the state of Arizona, but it is not confirmed if it will belong to TSMC or any other firm. Given that TSMC is the exclusive supplier of chips used to develop A-series and M-series of SoCs, we can assume that the Taiwanese giant will expand its operations there.
Again, Tim Cook has not confirmed below if the site belongs to TSMC, and it could be due to the political nature of other events that are slowly maturing.
“We’ve already made a decision to be buying out of a plant in Arizona, and this plant in Arizona starts up in ’24, so we’ve got about two years ahead of us on that one, maybe a little less.”
The plans were revealed through an internal meeting held in Germany that included Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services Eddy Cue, Senior Vice President of Retail and People Deirdre O’Brien, and last but not least, Tim Cook. There is also a possibility that Apple diversifies to Europe when it comes to chip purchasing, but sourcing chips from the U.S. would be an easier task since it would take significantly less time for those shipments to reach Apple.
On paper, TSMC’s first plant in Arizona will begin mass producing 5nm chips, which will be unnecessary for Apple since the company is already reported to pivot to the 3nm process in 2023 for various products, including iPhones. It is possible TSMC commences a broader investment that eventually upgrades its facility to mass produce next-generation wafers.
Image Credits – iFixit
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