Apple makes its own chips
Apple used to buy its chips from Intel, Qualcomm, Broadcom and Imagination. One by one, it's designing its own.
Which supplier is next? 👇
2017: Apple told Imagination it would design its own iPhone graphics. Apple was about half of Imagination's sales. 2020: the M1 chip replaced Intel inside Macs. 2025: the N1 chip replaced Broadcom for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in every iPhone 17. 2025: the C1 modem started replacing Qualcomm, in the iPhone 16e and iPhone Air.
The catch: Qualcomm still makes the modem in most iPhone 17 models, and its supply deal runs to March 2027.
Why it matters: when your biggest customer starts making the part you sell, your sales can fall fast. Apple doesn't build the chips itself either. It designs them and a foundry like TSMC makes them.
Send this to the friend who owns a chip stock.
Sources: Apple announcements and reporting by CNBC, 9to5Mac, AppleInsider.
