Gartner Group, which is not likely to make this sort of stuff up, says it is 100 percent sure that Intel is going to start making Jobs’ Mob chips in 2018. The Nikkei has also said something similar and now the Tame Apple Press, which never reports anything without Apple’s covert blessing is also on board with the rumors.

All this is a kick in the bottom line for Apple’s existing partners TSMC and Samsung, but then being an Apple partner must be like being a battered wife of a billionaire. You might have nice things but they come at a cost and eventually he is going to divorce you for someone younger anyway.

In this case a source close to Jobs’ Mob claimed that Apple had already agreed that a move to have Intel made chips for future iPhones and iPads was a priority.

It is unlikely that this could happen before 2018 but it is unlikely that this is so Apple can avoid its TSMC addiction. In fact it is more to do with finding an alternative to Samsung. Apple has huge problems working with Samsung which is its main rival for the iPhone and tablets. There are some Apple executives who still feel that Samsung must pay for stealing the rounded rectangle.

Taking Apple’s chip business away from Samsung will hurt the company overall. The only question is if Intel has the technical ability to make its mobile chips as successfully.