One of Apple’s most important choices in recent years is its alliance with TSMC. Concluded in 2014, it gave birth to the A8 chip, equipping the iPhone 6, a real revolution in its time. Since then, the association between the Californian giant and the Taiwanese firm has borne fruit. It even exceeded all the expectations of both parties.
Apple has become over the years the most important company in the world, and TSMC is the jewel of Taiwan, courted by the whole world. Clearly ahead of its direct competitors (Intel and Head), TSMC could launch a new generation of chips in 2026.
The iPhone 18 with a never-before-seen chip
With the release of the iPhone 18, scheduled for September of that same year, the Taiwanese company could produce the first computer chip engraved in 2 nanometers. Such a technical feat would be made possible by the use of a completely new method, called WMCM (Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module).
Without going into technical details, this technique (very different from the “InFo” method currently used) makes it possible to gain precision in the design of computer chips. In addition to saving space, the conduction between the components of a chip (CPU, GPU and RAM) would be better.
Apple and TSMC: an unstoppable duo
Apple could therefore use this new type of chip for its iPhone 18. It would then take the name “A20”. Apple could also order a “monopoly” from TSMC. Apple had already done this for the release of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max last year.
The Apple brand had purchased all of TSMC’s 3nm chip production capacities. Thus, the firm’s smartphones were the only ones in the world to have this technology. For its part, TSMC, which refuses to work with Chinese companies for geopolitical reasons, sees Apple as a major ally.
In addition to the extremely strong business relationship between the two companies, the ties between Apple and TSMC allow the company to ensure US support for Taiwan. Washington needs Apple, which itself is dependent on TSMC to produce millions of iPhones every year.
When tech becomes politics
This very particular position occupied by TSMC in the world of computing is not new. Founded at the end of the 1980s, the company (still owned by the State of Taiwan) helps protect its entire archipelago from the Chinese government.
If Beijing does not hide its ambitions for “reunification” between the two Chinas, it cannot “simply” bomb Taiwan, because this would endanger the TSMC installations, so precious to Beijing. This “silicone shield” as it is called by political scientists, protects the entire island and assures it the support of Uncle Sam, who has become addicted to these computer chips of a few square millimeters.
