Overview
- Multiple supply‑chain reports say TSMC is holding roughly $1 billion of finished A20 Pro wafers that cannot be packaged because required mobile DRAM shipments have not arrived.
- Apple’s A20 Pro is using wafer‑level multi‑chip module (WMCM) packaging so the processor and DRAM must be fused at the wafer stage, which prevents finished dies from being completed later.
- Apple CEO Tim Cook told investors on July 30 that the company faces ‘‘very significant constraints’’ with limited supply‑chain flexibility, a comment companies and analysts cite as confirmation of the pressure.
- Apple and assemblers Foxconn and BYD say they expect to meet initial launch allocations, but analysts warn online delivery windows could stretch and retail shelves may sell out quickly after the first batch.
- Memory makers have shifted capacity toward higher‑margin AI and data‑centre DRAM, pushing mobile DRAM prices up and raising the odds of higher iPhone 18 Pro prices and continued cross‑product shortages.