A Billion-Dollar’s Worth of Apple Silicon Is Reportedly Sitting in Storage at TSMC as It Awaits DRAM for Package Completion

News that would make any investor uneasy is circulating, indicating that Apple has a significant number of chips sitting around because its memory has yet to be provided. As reported by Tim Culpan (via TechPowerUp), TSMC has roughly $1 billion worth of Apple chips lying around waiting for its accompanying memory to be delivered.

“I probably use the term “fascinating” too much, especially in my podcast.

But this situation truly is fascinating. TSMC holds $1 billion+ of excess inventory because someone else in the supply chain can’t deliver a crucial part.”

-Tim Culpan

For those not in the know, Apple silicon is very similar to other SoC (systems on a chip), whereby the package relies on, at a minimum, a CPU and memory mounted on a PCB. Other chip manufacturers such as Intel and AMD use similar designs, albeit with various technical configurations and manufacturing processes. However, in the end there’s still a processor paired with memory on a board. Unfortunately for Apple, as it prepares for its upcoming iPhone 18 launch, there’s a delay in the supply chain preventing this crucial manufacturing process from being completed.

“In short, they’re sitting around twidling their thumbs waiting for DRAM while Apple processor wafers pile up.

The ripple effects are important and wide-reaching.”

– Tim Culpan

At this point, it’s no secret that the current memory shortage is wreaking havoc for everyone. From consumers to enterprise sectors, there’s no market involving electronics that isn’t seeing some kind of impact. Apple has primarily sourced its memory from Micron, along with SK Hynix and Samsung, but it’s common knowledge that fabs are at max capacity and are mainly focused on feeding datacenters before other customers. It’s been said that Apple had been in negotiations with CXMT for volume-based discounts, but CXMT rejected Apple’s offer. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking with the next iPhone launch, and it’s also been said that package completion and shipping for TSMC can take up to two weeks. In the long run, it probably won’t matter either way since most Apple products, in particular iPhones, sell out at launch, but this time around the risk of a delayed launch due to lack of inventory is becoming more likely, and odds are that scalpers are already at work in securing funds to exploit the situation.

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