Report: Apple Contracting TSMC To Fabricate Custom ARM Silicon For Macs

Just last month Apple finally announced that it would be transitioning away from Intel to its own custom ARM silicon for Macs. To accomplish this it needs a production partner, and who better than TSMC? A new report on Digitimes states that this will be the case, and that by the first half of 2021 Apple will be contracting a small portion of TSMC's capacity.

Of course, this comes as a surprise to exactly no-one. Apple was already one of TSMC's big customers for mobile chips, and with TSMC's progress on advanced node sizes, it is only logical for Apple to turn to its trusted partner. Earlier rumors also pointed to Apple partnering up with TSMC for ARM-Macs.

But although Apple might be starting small with TSMC, the chipmaker has a potentially big client on its hands. Analysts predict that the first Macs with Apple Silicon in them to be the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro, with the remainder of the lineup following in due time. Apple also explained that it would be transitioning to ARM in phases spanned over a period of two years.

Meanwhile, the Digitimes report also stated that Apple would be contracting ASMedia for the USB controllers in Macs with ARM silicon.