Apple, Intel Ink U.S. Chip Manufacturing Deal; Cook Warns of 4x Memory Cost Surge
AAPL•Apple reached a preliminary deal with Intel to design and manufacture chips in the U.S. after yearlong talks, reducing reliance on TSMC. Tim Cook said memory and storage chip costs have surged fourfold due to AI-driven demand, rendering price increases unavoidable in Q3 2026.
1. Preliminary U.S. Chip Manufacturing Deal with Intel
Apple and Intel have struck a preliminary agreement after more than a year of talks to co-design and build semiconductors in the United States, aiming to diversify supply beyond its current reliance on TSMC’s foundry capacity. Details remain unconfirmed, but the move would anchor consistent domestic chip output and strengthen Apple’s U.S. manufacturing footprint.
2. Surge in Memory and Storage Costs Prompts Price Hikes
Chief Executive Tim Cook warned that memory and storage chip prices have surged fourfold due to intense AI-driven demand, straining supply for consumer devices. He said these unprecedented cost increases make product price hikes inevitable in Apple’s fiscal Q3 2026, though timing and scale of those increases remain unspecified.
