Apple Signs Preliminary Deal With Intel to Manufacture Its Chips

Apple and Intel have signed a preliminary agreement under which Intel will manufacture some chips for Apple devices, the Wall Street Journal reports. Intel shares surged 14% on Friday to an intraday high of $130.57—a gain that brings the stock up 175% since the start of 2026 and more than 430% over the past year.

Five years after Apple switched from Intel processors to its own Apple Silicon, citing power hunger, heat, and slow evolution, the company is now turning to Intel as a chipmaker. The deal was formalized after more than a year of negotiations but remains preliminary, with no details yet on which chips are involved or when production will begin.

Apple sells more than 200 million iPhones annually plus millions of iPads and Macs, making supply-chain diversification away from TSMC a strategic priority. The agreement does not mark a return to Intel-designed processors for Macs. Apple continues to design its own chips—M-series for Macs, A-series for iPhones, and S-series for the Watch—while Intel acts purely as a foundry, the same role long filled by TSMC.

Intel’s Foundry division posted a $2.4 billion loss in the first quarter of 2026. Its most advanced 18A process is intended to compete with TSMC’s 2 nm node but has yet to prove reliable at scale. The most credible scenario involves secondary chips such as S-series components for the Apple Watch or networking and connectivity silicon. The first Apple chips from an Intel fab are not expected before 18 months, according to Decrypt estimates.

The U.S. government has held roughly 9.9% of Intel since August 2025, acquired for $8.9 billion through the CHIPS Act. The stake has already quintupled in value. Donald Trump reportedly lobbied personally for the agreement.