Samsung to Manufacture iPhone Image Sensors in Texas as Part of US Investment

Samsung Electronics will manufacture Apple’s digital image sensors for the upcoming iPhone products at a semiconductor facility in Austin, Texas. This comes as part of Apple’s ongoing investment in the US economy.

This week, Apple CEO Tim Cook met with US President Trump, where a $600 billion investment in the US economy was settled to take place over the next four years. As part of this investment, the company vowed “to launch an innovative new technology for making chips, which has never been used before anywhere in the world”.

As reported by Financial Times, Apple has not specified which technologies would be used while making its chips. However, the company stated that Samsung Electronics would develop a three-layer stacked image sensor. The sensor in question will be used on the ‘iPhone 18’, which is expected to launch later in 2026.

“By bringing this technology to the US first, this facility will supply chips that optimize power and performance of Apple products, including iPhone devices shipped all over the world,” Apple says.

Cook increased its pledge to the US economy by $100 billion during his latest meeting with President Trump. This money will be contributing to expanding its supply chain and tech manufacturing in the US. Under the name ‘American Manufacturing Program’, Apple’s investment will aim to skirt around Trump’s aggressive tariffs, which will otherwise impact Apple’s manufacturing in China, India, and its global supply chain.

A new server factory in Houston is also being built. The facility is said to be going into production in 2026. This factory will be home to servers running Apple’s AI tools and cloud services.

This week US President also announced his plan to put 100 percent tariffs on chips and semiconductors imported into the US. Companies which are committed to building in the US are being exempted from the tariffs. It’s assumed that, given Apple’s pledge, the company will be exempted from being impacted by the tariffs.