TSMC will give Apple top priority for car, smartphone chips

Let the Apple Car rumors roll on. Apple supplier TSMC will give supply priorities to orders for automotive integrated circuits and those placed by Apple in the third quarter of 2021, reports DigiTimes (a subscription is required to read the entire article). This will be followed by chip orders for personal computers, servers and networking devices, the article adds.

Of course, most of those chips will be for the upcoming iPhone update. Apple’s processor orders are expected to peak in the fourth quarter.

The status of an Apple auto is unclear. On June 2, Bloomberg reported that Apple has lost “several” top managers from its “Apple Car” project. Here’s what the report says: Apple Inc. has lost multiple top managers of its self-driving car team in recent months, a sign of attrition at the division involved in what could become an important future product.

If an Apple Car ever arrives it probably won’t arrive until 2024 at the earliest. In fact, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo doesn’t expect it until at least 2025.