Apple has chips made in the US – that’s why it’s important

According to Tim Cook (and President Joe Biden), Apple is having chips made for its devices in a new factory in Arizona. These then receive the proud stamp: ‘Made in the US’.

Tim Cook meets with President Joe Biden

Apple CEO Tim Cook has visited a new factory of chipmaker TSMC with President Joe Biden in Arizona, United States. There Cook confirmed the news that had been circulating for a long time. TSMC will produce chips for Apple in this new factory.

These chips should proudly bear the “Made in the US” stamp. It is an important step for both Cook and Biden, who both want to be less dependent on other countries (such as China and Taiwan) for the production of such electronics.

Apple brings chip production to its own country

The TSMC company is currently already Apple’s partner for the production of the so-called Apple chips. We already find this in the latest iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs and Macs. The move to use this new Arizona factory for Apple’s chips is part of Biden’s CHIPS Act. Through this legislation, the president of the United States wants to keep companies in their own country by giving them billions of dollars.

The chips are to receive the nationalistic stamp of ‘Made in the US’ and, according to Cook, will be ‘the opportunity for the United States to usher in a new era of advanced manufacturing’.

What’s so special about the Apple Silicon chips?

Apple announced at WWDC in 2020 that the company would also switch to Apple Silicon for its Macs. For devices with the M1 chip (and the M1 Max/Pro and M2 chip), Apple has placed all computer components on a single circuit board. For example, the graphics processor and Neural Engine are also fixed on the chip. Apple also calls this ‘System on a Chip’ (SoC). You can also find this technology in the A16 Bionic chip of the iPhone 14 Pro or the M2 chip of the latest MacBook Air, for example.

The chip makes the devices a lot more powerful and efficient. Previously, Apple worked with Intel for its Macs, making them dependent on that company’s plans. Now they have everything in their own hands and that can be seen in the performance of the Apple devices.

Will Apple Silicon become ‘Apple American Silicon’?

Cook therefore wants to make the production of this chip American and ‘give it back to the country’. It is, according to Biden, “the opportunity to create American high-tech jobs.” The new TSMC plant in Arizona is expected to open in 2024. From then on, Apple will make chips on its own territory.

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