Apple has, reportedly, agreed to the price increase Taiwanese chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will make after rejecting it earlier. The news comes at a time when the Cupertino tech giant has been reported to court a Chinese chip maker to supply it with chips for iPhones being sold in China.
According to a report from Economic Daily News, the iPhone maker has agreed with TSMC's price for the production of chips for new devices next year. This is an interesting development, considering how Apple, just last week, reportedly refused TSMC's price increase.
As per EDN, TSMC told its clients that it will be increasing the production costs for 8-inch chip wafers and 12-inch chip wafers by 6% and 5% respectively. TSMC will be working on the A17 chips Apple will be using for its devices in 2023, such as the new iPhone and iPad.
TSMC noted that despite the reduced demand for newer devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and the like, shortages of chips continue to affect the entire semiconductor industry.
But since TSMC supplies Apple with a majority of chips being used for its plethora of devices and their respective variants, the semiconductor company still has the ability to negotiate for better prices.
Per 9To5Mac, the new A17 Bionic chip is the first to be made using the 3-nanometer process. This process is expected to be used on Apple's upcoming M3 chip, which is going to be used on newer and more powerful Macs.
The outlet explained that Samsung is also developing chips using the 3-nanometer process. If the South Korean company succeeds in doing this, consumers can expect Apple to source new chips from it as well, considering how it provided the Cupertino tech giant with A-series chips for iPhones until the iPhone 6s.
Reserved for Premium Devices
All that said, what's clear at the moment is that Apple appears to be reserving the best and latest components for its most premium products.
For example, Apple has limited the use of its latest and most powerful iPhone processor, the A16 Bionic, to the iPhone 14 Pro models.
If the Cupertino tech giant decides to keep this practice, consumers might still not be able to enjoy the aforementioned A17 on the lower-end model in next year's iPhone lineup.
Timely Report
The EDN report comes amid a time when Apple is facing scrutiny for its decision to tap a Chinese chip maker to supply it with chips for iPhones being sold in China.
Earlier reports indicate that the Cupertino tech giant is courting Yangtze Memory Technology Corp. (YMTC), a Beijing-backed company with ties to the Chinese military.
The U.S. government is scrutinizing this move as it is considered risky, given how China uses technology for espionage purposes.
