Since TSMC officially announced that it would raise prices, many American companies led by Apple have been rumored to have "rejected", among which Apple has the toughest attitude. As we all know, after losing , Huawei , Apple became TSMC's largest customer, so Apple has a certain say.
But due to Apple's rejection, Nvidia and MediaTek also had the idea of "price increase exemption", which made TSMC quite passive. I thought TSMC would compromise on this, but Liu Deyin's attitude towards was a bit "mysterious". According to relevant information, Liu Deyin was a rare tough one and refused Apple's request to not agree to the price increase. In desperation, Apple chose to compromise and will pay TSMC's price increase in 2023 within one year. Is Apple actually "slapped in the face"?
I believe many friends are just like the author and are very confused about this result. Apple is obviously very good at playing a good deal. In order to retain Apple, TSMC will probably agree, but why has the situation reversed? Think about it carefully, this game is not that simple, and it is also closely related to TSMC's construction of a factory in the United States.
First of all, from the perspective of TSMC, Apple is the largest customer, and keeping Apple can ensure revenue. But in fact, TSMC has already given Apple VVIP treatment. TSMC's price increase is around 10%-20%, but it only gave Apple a 3% price increase, which is quite sincere. Moreover, Apple is very important to TSMC, and conversely, TSMC is equally important to Apple. Even if Apple can settle for the second best and choose Samsung OEM, it cannot be compared with TSMC in terms of OEM efficiency and OEM quality. Qualcomm has already tried it, and the "success" of the Snapdragon 888 series is a lesson, so Apple actually doesn't have many chips in its hands.
It is worth mentioning that the reason why Liu Deyin turned against Apple was also to stabilize the situation. If you are "tolerant" to Apple, it is equivalent to announcing that TSMC's price increase plan has failed. Intel , Nvidia and other customers will also put forward the same "price increase exemption" requirement, so TSMC's firm attitude is expected.
Secondly, after the new US bill was implemented, whether TSMC will go to the US to build a factory has become the focus of global attention. Although TSMC has not made any statement, the situation is clear at present. TSMC founder Zhang Zhongmou said that building a factory in the United States will not bring substantial benefits to TSMC, but will instead increase unnecessary costs.
And if TSMC goes to the United States to build a factory, it will be the target of "letting the mermaid meat". The United States can ask TSMC to provide key data and key technologies, step by step "lost" TSMC, and even steal TSMC's talents, with only one purpose, to support local semiconductor companies.
So, this time TSMC rejects Apple, it can also be seen that TSMC does not seem to be very interested in building factories in the United States. On the one hand, TSMC insists on raising prices to tell US companies that TSMC's chip foundry technology is irreplaceable. On the other hand, TSMC is also reflecting on itself and cannot rely too much on the US market, otherwise it may be "bottled" by US companies.
Liu Deyin finally woke up and no longer had too many fantasies about American companies. Apple's rejection is just a small episode of the chip dispute. The United States will continue to try. Only by holding on to its own core technology can there be bargaining chips for negotiation and game. What do you think about this? Welcome to comment and leave a message!
