Apple is preparing to qualify Intel’s 18A process for its lowest-end M-series processor, according to a post on X from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He reports that Apple has already signed an NDA with Intel and received the 18AP PDK 0.9.1GA, with internal simulation work tracking close enough to expectations for the company to wait on the full 1.0 and 1.1 releases currently planned for the first quarter of 2026.
On that trajectory, Intel could begin shipping production silicon in the second or third quarter of 2027. This would mark the first time Intel had fabbed any Apple silicon since Apple dumped the company entirely in late 2023.
