Apple is considering early-stage discussions with Intel and Samsung to diversify its chip manufacturing from TSMC. The move comes after Apple restructured its hardware engineering and hardware technologies teams into a single organization led by Johny Srouji. The company's challenges lie in manufacturing scale and consistency, as both Intel (Intel) and Samsung (Samsung) cannot offer the production and scale that has made them the dominant made-to-order chip manufacturer for Apple. This move could benefit Intel significantly due to Apple's reliance on TSMC, given the ongoing ongoing component crunch driven by the AI boom and increased demand for Macs suitable for running AI models locally. However, there are concerns about using non-TSMC technology and may not ultimately move forward with another partner.