Industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Macs powered by Apple’s own homegrown A-Series chips could hit shelves by 2020 or 2021. Apple’s much-rumored Apple Car project could use the A-Series silicon for its brainpower.
As for Apple’s chip manufacturer, TSMC, Kuo believes that the vendor will continue to reap the rewards of being the sole A-series chip supplier. He also predicts that Apple will become more and more dependent on TSMC due to its high quality design and production compared to other manufacturers and that there’s no conflict of interest between the two, unlike Samsung who provides displays for Apple.
Ku expects the iPhone XR will sell better than expected, allowing TSMC to have a better Q1 in 2019 thanks to the A12. Kuo also predicts that TSMC will be the sole supplier for the A13 in 2019, as well as the A14 in 2020.
Kuo also believes Apple could debut their first Mac powered by custom ARM-based chips in 2020 or 2021. Kuo’s note echos a Bloomberg report from earlier this year. He says there are numerous benefits for the move, such as getting off of Intel’s processor release schedule, higher profits margins, and possibly a larger share of the computer market if Apple lowers their prices on future Macs.
As far as Apple Car’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, Kuo predicts Apple’s efforts will offer Level 4 or Level 5 fully autonomous driving to car buyers. He says only TSMC’s 3nm or 5nm future chip process could offer enough power for that type of autonomy.
