According to a report by the Taiwanese publication, Intel is looking to develop a closer relationship with TSMC to avoid a conflict with Apple over TSMC's chip production.
We reported yesterday that TSMC is beginning pilot production of its 3nanometer process that will eventually be used in Apple products. Apple uses a 5nm process in its latest products.
Ahead of Apple's adoption of the smaller chip process in its products, Intel is trying to establish a clear relationship with TSMC to ensure the Taiwan supplier will fulfill its orders for a rumored upcoming 3nm GPU, without conflicting with Apple's orders.
According to a report today, high-level executives from Intel plan to visit Taiwan and TSMC in December to discuss production and capacity. According to the report, Intel will be trying to get more available 3nm process capacity at TSMC and that they are looking at a closer tie with TSMC to avoid fighting with Apple for the available process capacity.
A report last month said that Intel would be using TSMC's 3nanometer process for its upcoming Meteor Lake processors. TSMC is a third-party that Intel can give the job to if it wants to catch up to Apple.
Apple is going to phase out Intel chips in its Mac lineup in favor of Apple Silicon over the next two years. The M1 chip in the 13-inch MacBook Air, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro was officially introduced in November 2020. The new iMac and MacBook Pros were the latest additions to Apple's product line.
The iMac, Mac Pro, and Mac mini are the only Intel-based Macs in the lineup. Apple has credited the efficiency and size of Apple's Silicon for some of the more radical Mac design changes seen in the most recent iMac.
