Apple Watch processors are now being allegedly manufactured in the US
Apple now reportedly fabs its in-house designed processors for Apple Watch at TSMC’s semiconductor plant in Arizona, United States.
Taiwanese journalist and former Bloomberg reporter Tim Culpan wrote on Substack that TSMC’s Arizona fab has begun churning out Apple SiP chips. SiP, or Systems-in-Package, refers to bundling multiple integrated circuits into a single package.
He believes TSMC is fabricating Apple’s S9 SiP at the Arizona plant. The dual-core chip powers the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models. Among other things, the S9 integrates Apple’s latest ultra-wide band chip (called U2) and an improved Neural Engine (for accelerating AI tasks) with four cores.
Apple expanding US-based chip manufacturing
The S9 may not be the first Apple chip fabricated domestically; in September 2024, Culpan reported that the A16 processors for iPhones had become the first chips to take advantage of TSMC’s US-based silicon production using the foundry’s 5nm process. The A16 powers today’s iPhone 14 Pros and standard iPhone 15 models.
Apple has restricted US-based silicon manufacturing to chips two generations old; processors found in the latest devices are still being made overseas. For example, the current iPhone 16 models use Apple’s A18 chip and the Apple Watch Series 10 and Ultra 2 are powered by the S10 SiP, neither of which is made in the US.
But Apple plans to use more American-made chips instead of importing them from Taiwan, where TSMC operates its facilities. For what it’s worth, Apple CEO Tim Cook did say at the opening ceremony for the Arizona plant that future iPhones and Macs will use American-made chips. TSMC is the world’s leading semiconductor foundry, which counts companies like Apple, Nvidia and AMD as its clients.
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