A new report claims that while Apple Silicon chips based on TSMC’s 3nm processors will remain in shorter supply than usual, there are reasons to expect the launch of 2nm processor in the next MacBook Pro will improve the situation.
During Apple’s latest earnings call, Tim Cook cautioned that the current shortage of memory would be an increasing problem, and the expectation is that iPhone and Mac prices will rise. But the demand from AI firms is such that firms like Apple may not be able to buy sufficient memory or even processors at any price, and a new report says that is going to continue.
According to Digitimes, Macs supply will remain constrained until processor TSMC manufacturer is able to ramp up its 2-nanometer manufacturing. Apple is expected to use TSMC’s 2nm processor in the forthcoming OLED MacBook Pro, which had been predicted for the end of 2026.
Recent reports have said that this MacBook Pro is now delayed until 2027.
During the earnings call, Cook said that Apple had been able to reduce the impact of memory price rises by carry-in inventory, the early buying of the supply before costs rose. “I can tell you that beyond the June quarter,” he said, “we believe memory costs will drive an increasing impact on our business.”
He specified that for the next financial quarter, the constraints will be on the Mac mini, Mac Studio, and the new MacBook Neo, more than the iPhone. But it’s been reported separately that the forthcoming iPhone 18 range will be affected by TSMC’s price hikes.
However, the iPhone 18 range is expected to use the A20 and A20 Pro processors, both of which are 2-nanometer designs. In August 2025, it was reported that Apple would be taking half of TSMC’s 2-nanometer processor capacity.
More recently, Apple has reportedly lost its status as TSMC’s largest customer. It appears to have lost that position to Nvidia, which is sourcing processors for AI data centers and will reportedly use TSMC’s 2-nanometer designs from 2027.
Given that expectation and this new report, it’s likely that the carry-in program Cook referred to includes the existing orders for 2-nanometer processors. That would account for the supply of the forthcoming MacBook Pro being expected to be better than Apple is currently seeing with the rest of its range.
It does not follow, though, that Apple’s whole Mac range will see improvements. Although Tim Cook did specifically say in the earnings call that he expects “the Mac mini and the Mac Studio may take several months to reach supply-demand balance.”
He also said that Apple was continuing to evaluate the situation and that “we’ll look at a range of options.” Cook did not say what those options are, but it has previously been reported that Apple may get firms such as Intel to manufacture some of its older processors.



