Is that acceptable? Apple uses defective chips in budget models 0 25

Without one core

According to the publication, the company employs a practice called "binning" — sorting chips by quality after production at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) factories. Fully functional processors are used in flagship devices, while chips with disabled or non-working cores are used in more affordable models.

In particular, the new MacBook Neo priced at $599 uses the A18 Pro chip, previously used in the iPhone 16 Pro. In the laptop version, the graphics processor has five cores instead of six, as one of them was disabled due to a defect, the material states.

Such processors remain operational but are directed to lower-priced devices. According to the newspaper, Apple employs a similar approach in the iPhone line, including more affordable models with processors that do not meet the specifications of flagship devices.

The WSJ does not provide direct evidence of the use of defective processors.

The economy should be economical

As noted by supply chain analyst Tim Callan, such a practice allows the company to reduce costs and make more efficient use of production waste: "If you can take something that doesn’t meet the highest level of specifications and still use it, you save money, reduce waste, and shorten production time."

Analysts estimate that the redistribution of chips allows for an expanded product line and reduced production costs. At the same time, sources in the supply chain note an increased load on TSMC due to rising demand for chips for artificial intelligence systems, which has forced Apple to place additional orders for the production of the 6-core A18 Pro microprocessor.

In early May, the publication reported, citing informed sources, that Apple and Intel had reached a preliminary agreement under which Intel would produce some processors for the company's devices. The deal was the result of negotiations that lasted more than a year.