#Intel 18A

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims Apple is poised to bring Intel back into its Mac ecosystem, this time not as a chip designer but as a manufacturing partner. According to the report, Intel could start producing Apple’s lowest-end M-series chips on its advanced 18A process as early as mid-2027, potentially for future MacBook Air, iPad Air, and iPad Pro models. Unlike the old Intel x86 processors used in Macs before 2020, these chips would still be Apple-designed Arm-based silicon, with Intel acting only as a foundry while TSMC continues to handle the bulk of M-series production. The move would support US manufacturing goals and help Apple diversify its supply chain, even as macOS Tahoe remains the last major release to support legacy Intel-based Macs. it is powered by Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU with 150W Max TGP, 64GB of LPDDR5X memory, and 2TB of SSD storage. It is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor and comes in variants with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU, 32GB of LPDDR5X memory, and up to 2TB of PCIe storage. It comes with an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU with 130W TGP. Read more in our articles including "Apple may tap Intel again to manufacture future M-series Mac chips" and "Courier Complaints Drop 88% Under Oplan Bantay Padala".