According to Weibo tipster Fixed-focus digital cameras, surprising news hit Apple: a visit from TSMC CEO CC Wei, who demanded the “biggest price increase in recent years”. In other words, the Taiwanese company will stop giving priority treatment to apples.
The partnership between Apple and TSMC has always been the subject of speculation about a possible favor agreement. After all, the iPhone maker has repeatedly contributed a significant portion of the semiconductor giant’s revenue.
There were also reports that both companies had made a secret agreement, in which Apple would only receive batches of “good” wafers. Although, These claims were refuted by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who clarified the situation, stating that TSMC does not absorb the costs of defective wafers.
With all this, many believed that Apple would have priority access to TSMC’s cutting-edge lithography, but this year could see a major shift in the relationship between the two companies. Furthermore, NVIDIA alone would have reserved more than 50% of TSMC’s CoWoS capacity for this year 2026.
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Like several companies, as a result of the Artificial Intelligence boom, TSMC would be facing a shortage of 2 nm wafers. With overwhelming demand putting pressure on businesses, the manufacturer would have been forced to increase the prices of its advanced nodes for four consecutive years, starting now in 2026.
Although this doesn’t necessarily apply only to Apple, the company’s A20 SoC is estimated to cost US$280 (R$1,497.80) per unit. This indicates that price increases may have already been applied. The 2nm node recorded 1.5 times more tape-outs than the 3nm node, highlighting that Apple, Qualcomm and MediaTek are not the only customers.
At the end of the Weibo post, user Fixed-focus digital cameras mentions that NVIDIA is now TSMC’s biggest customer, representing 13% of the company’s total revenue. If the AI bubble bursts, TSMC could end up returning the favor to Apple, but the company is unlikely to see that happening anytime soon.
Today, its capital investments due to the AI boom will reach unprecedented levels, reaching US$56 billion (R$299.56 billion) this year.
Source: Fixed-focus digital cameras, translated by WCCFTECH.
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Source: https://www.adrenaline.com.br/hardware/mudanca-de-poder-tsmc-cogita-fim-do-tratamento-prioritario-a-apple/
