Apple may have just been looking to apply pricing pressure.
> TSMC has finalized the pricing for its upcoming 2nm process, setting the wafer price at around $30,000. This marks a 10%–20% increase compared with the 3nm process average of $25,000–$27,000, lower than earlier market speculation of a 50% hike.
https://technode.com/2025/10/09/tsmc-sets-2nm-wafer-price-at...
It fits perfectly with Apples sucking up to Trump too.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/08/07/tim-...
It’s interesting how open the corruption is from mega corporate American leaders, who don’t seem to hold to any principles.
Not just even with Trump. Accuse iCloud in China of being backdoored and someone will step in and demand "proof"
Apple gets a weird "free pass" on far too much
Even if TSMC wasn't going to tighten the screws, it makes sense that Apple would be talking to Intel since Apple abhors single-source external dependencies. Plus, it gives them brownie points with our Grifter In Chief. https://www.intc.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1748/...
Apple previously dual sourced SOCs from both TSMC and Samsung, before dropping Samsung.
The performance and power efficiency has to be there.
If Intel can get good yields and performance/power efficiency from their new process node, then it can be worth the added complexity.