Despite reports of a preliminary agreement between Apple and Intel for chip manufacturing, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is anticipated to continue as Apple's main supplier. This assessment emerged from Taiwanese industry experts following a Wall Street Journal article detailing negotiations between Apple and Intel over the past year.
According to Liu Pei-chen, an economist at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, TSMC's superior packaging technologies, such as InFO and CoWoS, are vital for the efficiency of Apple's A-series and M-series chips. She emphasized that both Intel and Samsung Electronics still fall short of TSMC in chip yield and power efficiency, which complicates any immediate shift of flagship orders from the Taiwanese firm.
Li Fang-kuo, Chairman of President Capital Management Co., remarked that the potential shift is not indicative of TSMC's technological shortcomings but is influenced by the intense demand for advanced processes from customers in the artificial intelligence sector. This indicates TSMC's robust position in the market, where demand currently surpasses supply.