Overview
- Multiple supply‑chain reports published Friday say roughly $1 billion worth of finished A20/A20 Pro wafers are being held at TSMC because the mobile DRAM needed for wafer‑level packaging has not arrived.
- Apple moved the A20 series to a wafer‑level multi‑chip module process that fuses DRAM to the processor during packaging so memory must be present at that step or the chips cannot be completed.
- Reporting says an expected deal with Chinese supplier CXMT collapsed and Apple is urgently seeking alternate DRAM from Micron, SK hynix, Samsung and other sources to finish packaging.
- Apple and its assemblers say they expect to meet initial launch demand but warn that if DRAM shortfalls persist online order wait times could lengthen and retail stock could sell out quickly after launch.
- The shortage reflects a broader shift of DRAM capacity toward higher‑margin AI/datacenter chips, which raises mobile memory prices and could squeeze Apple’s production windows for a program sized at roughly 200 million units over the product cycle.