Apple's Intel chips tipped to be made in China, not Ireland

An informed source told the Irish Independent that the chips for Apple will likely be made in China rather than Ireland.

Intel began a redundancy programme in Ireland last month as part of a global staffing reduction.

An Intel spokesperson in Ireland declined to comment.

Apple has chosen Intel modem chips for the iPhone used on AT&T's US network and some other versions of the smartphone for overseas markets, said people familiar with the matter.

IPhones on Verizon's network will stick with parts from Qualcomm, which is the only provider of the main communications component of current versions of Apple's flagship product. Crucially for Qualcomm, iPhones sold in China will work on Qualcomm chips, said the people, who asked not to be identified because Apple hasn't made its plans public.

Representatives for all of the companies involved declined to comment on the Bloomberg report.

Orders from Apple represent the first major win for an Intel mobile chip program that had struggled for relevance and racked up operating losses. The shot in the arm for the world's largest chipmaker further dents the dominance of Qualcomm in baseband processors that connect phones to networks and convert radio signals into voice and data. While Qualcomm is losing some orders, it's retaining a major chunk of Apple's business, offsetting concern that one of its largest customers would drop it completely.