You might not know it, but all of Apple’s chips are made by a company called TSMC. They’re widely considered to be far more advanced than any chip rival Intel is pumping out at the moment, and now, TSMC has declared that things are going to stay that way.
The comments come after Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said his company would catch up with Apple’s chips by next year, with the intention of surpassing them in terms of power and efficiency.
However, TSMC founder Morris Chang is apparently unimpressed by Gelsinger’s claims, stating in response that even if Intel is able to improve its chip yields and technology, offer competitive prices, and attempt to level the playing field, it will still be left in TSMC’s “shadow” unless geopolitical factors give it a boost.
The statement suggests TSMC is feeling confident in its chipmaking process. If you’re an Apple user, it could be seen as a message that the best iPhones and MacBooks will continue to outperform their rivals.
Can Intel fight back?
Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro chips are made using a 3-nanometer process, with its M3 Mac chip expected to follow suit shortly, and this process is anticipated to result in phenomenal performance and efficiency. In fact, TSMC has already announced it will be moving to an improved 2nm process in 2025, which could be one reason for the company’s confidence that Intel will struggle to keep up.
Right now, many Intel chips can match or exceed TSMC’s offerings in terms of performance, but do so at the cost of high temperatures and power draw, struggling to match TSMC’s ability to keep heat down while maintaining output.
In any attempt to fight back, Intel is pulling out all the stops to compete with Apple, including adopting a system-on-a-chip approach for its upcoming Meteor Lake chips. That could help to improve efficiency, and Intel will be hoping it will narrow the gap with Apple.
Whether that actually comes to pass is uncertain, but we’ll likely find out later this year when Meteor Lake launches. For now at least, it seems like TSMC is unfazed by what could be around the corner. If you’re an Apple fan, that will be music to your ears.
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