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Does TSMC Make Apple Watch Chips in the U.S.? What’s Reported About the S9

Reports say TSMC began producing some Apple Watch S9 components in Arizona, but Apple and TSMC have not publicly confirmed the S9-specific claim.
Estimate3–4 min Catalogued SpecialistWatchRanker Team
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Reportedly, TSMC began making parts of Apple’s S9 system-in-package at its Arizona fab—but neither Apple nor TSMC has publicly confirmed S9 production there. The distinction matters: wafer fabrication in the United States does not mean the finished chip was packaged and integrated there too.

Does TSMC make Apple Watch chips in the U.S.?

A January 8, 2025 report by technology columnist Tim Culpan said TSMC had started producing Apple’s S9 system-in-package at Fab 21 near Phoenix, Arizona. MacRumors attributed the claim to Culpan, while Tom’s Hardware described the reported Arizona output as “some ingredients” of the S9 package. Neither account provides direct Apple or TSMC confirmation naming the S9.

There is separate confirmation that the Arizona fab was operating at high volume: TSMC chair and CEO C.C. Wei said production began at the end of 2024, in a statement reported by Axios on January 16, 2025. That confirms activity at the fab generally, not production of this specific Apple Watch chip. Axios’s report on TSMC’s Arizona production does not identify the S9.

The S9 is a system-in-package (SiP), not simply a retail chip sold on its own. MacRumors reported that the S9 and the A16 Bionic use TSMC’s 4-nanometer N4 process, and that TSMC had started producing the A16 at Fab 21 in 2024. Those reports do not establish that every manufacturing stage for either product took place in Arizona. MacRumors’s January 2025 report and Tom’s Hardware’s coverage preserve that distinction.

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What “made in the U.S.” means for the S9

Chip manufacturing has separate stages. A report that a chip is produced at a U.S. fab may refer to wafer fabrication, where circuitry is formed on silicon wafers; it does not, by itself, establish where the resulting dies are packaged or integrated into a finished SiP.

That distinction is especially relevant to the S9 claim because Tom’s Hardware’s wording refers to “some ingredients” of the package. The reviewed reports do not specify the S9’s Arizona wafer volume, the U.S. share of its production, or the number of units involved.

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In a March 6, 2026 article, EE Times reported that Apple did not comment on its report and quoted TSMC as saying, “Currently, all of TSMC’s advanced packaging is in Taiwan.” EE Times also described plans for two advanced-packaging facilities at the Arizona site. Plans are not completed capacity, so the article does not establish that S9 packaging has moved to the United States. EE Times’s March 2026 report provides the packaging context.

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Which Apple Watch uses the S9?

Apple introduced the S9 with Apple Watch Series 9 in late 2023. MacRumors reported in January 2025 that Series 9 was out of production and that Apple Watch Ultra 2 continued to use the S9. That makes Ultra 2 the relevant product connection in that report; it does not establish the watch’s current availability or production status.

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How to read the Arizona claim

  • Product-specific claim: Tim Culpan’s January 2025 report, repeated by technology publications, said production of S9 components had begun in Arizona. It was not a public Apple or TSMC confirmation naming S9.
  • Fab status: TSMC CEO C.C. Wei confirmed high-volume production at the Arizona fab generally, as reported by Axios in January 2025. His statement was not S9-specific.
  • Packaging status: EE Times reported in March 2026 that TSMC’s advanced packaging was then in Taiwan and described future plans for Arizona facilities. That does not establish where every S9 component or finished package was made.

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