Samsung semiconductor foundry building competitive relationship with Apple

According to a report from Korean media, Taiwanese TSMC will monopolize Apple’s semiconductor product production this year after sales of semiconductor foundries ordered by Apple increased significantly.

And, Samsung and Intel are forming a competitive relationship with Apple, so negotiating foundry orders is not so easy. As per the report, Apple plans to begin storing key components, such as semiconductors, for the next iPhone in early June.

Taiwan’s TSMC, which produces Apple’s own processors for iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks, is also expected to produce next-generation system semiconductors such as the ‘A16’ and ‘M2’ as soon as possible.

With Apple’s systems semiconductor product line, being more than 20 trillion won in annual orders, TSMC’s rivals, Samsung Electronics and Intel are ultimately targeted to win orders.

Apple generally diversifies its component suppliers, relying on TSMC to produce semiconductor processors, a key component that inevitably increases the risk of disruption in the semiconductor supply chain.

However, DigiTimes said it would be difficult for Samsung to hand over Apple’s semiconductor product to Apple due to sluggish foundry microprocessing yields, and that Intel was also unlikely to win orders from Apple.

Although Samsung Electronics competes with Apple in the smartphone and mobile processor markets, it has been analyzed that the chances of winning foundry orders are much higher compared to Intel.

Finally, if Samsung’s foundry microprocessing yield problem is resolved, it is possible that Apple will hand over some semiconductors to Samsung instead of TSMC. Apple is already actively reviewing TSMC’s production of 2-nano process semiconductors, which will be used in iPhones released in 2025.