Benzinga | Nov 24, 2021 01:00PM EST

Apple Leans Towards TSM To Reduce Reliance On Qualcomm

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) looks to rope in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (NYSE:TSM) to manufacture 5G iPhone modems from 2023, reducing its reliance on Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ:QCOM), Nikkei Asia reports.

* Apple aims to adopt TSM's 4-nm chip production technology to mass-produce its first in-house 5G modem chip.

* Apple is developing its radio frequency and millimeter wave components to complement the modem. Apple is also working on its power management chip specifically for the modem.

* Apple's move aims to integrate TSM chips with its in-house mobile processor, gain more control on its hardware integration capability and chip efficacy boost.

* Qualcomm recently confirmed that its share of iPhone modem orders will drop to about 20% in 2023.

* Apple uses TSM's 5-nm chip production for the new 5G iPhone modem to design and test-produce the chip.

* Apple will also use TSM's 4-nm tech for its iPhone processor in the second half of 2022.

* Apple aims to use 3-nm tech for iPhone processors by 2023.

* Price Action: QCOM shares traded lower by 0.88% at $179.35 in the market session on the last check Wednesday.