The chip fabrication plant TSMC opened in Arizona reportedly began producing a second Apple processor, a win for those eager to see more chips produced in the United States.
The fab now reportedly makes Apple Watch processors. It began manufacturing iPhone chips in 2024.
Some TSMC chips now made in Arizona, USA
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company produces iPhone and Mac processors that Apple designs. Mostly, that happens in Taiwan, but tax credits in President Joe Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act persuaded the company to move some production to the United States.
The TSMC chip foundry in Arizona began making Apple A16 processors in September 2024, according to Culpium. And now it’s making chips for Apple Watch. This is likely the S9 processor.
TSMC uses its 5-nanometer N4P process to manufacture these chips. That’s not the company’s most advanced tech, but the Arizona fab is still early in Phase 1 of coming online. Culpium reports the facility makes the chips “in small, but significant, numbers,” and will scale up production this year.
In addition, TSMC is building a second chip factory in Arizona that’s scheduled to make 3nm and 2nm chips starting in 2028. A third fab should begin production of even more advanced processors “by the end of the decade,” according to the Taiwanese company.
“The CHIPS and Science Act provides TSMC the opportunity to make this unprecedented investment and to offer our foundry service of the most advanced manufacturing technologies in the United States,” said TSMC chairman Mark Liu. “Our U.S. operations allow us to better support our U.S. customers, which include several of the world’s leading technology companies. Our U.S. operations will also expand our capability to trailblaze future advancements in semiconductor technology.”
It’s a reminder that, despite what some critics say, the iPhone and other Apple devices are not entirely made in China. Many of them are assembled in that country, but almost all the components are produced around the world, including the United States.
