The production process that Intel hoped would pave the way to winning manufacturing deals and restore its edge in churning out high-end, high-margin chips is facing a big hurdle on quality as it puts newer technologies to the test.

Intel is reportedly still struggling with a chipmaking process crucial to its future. Reuters reports that the company's 18A process is still producing low yields and high defect rates. Intel has invested billions of dollars in the manufacturing process, on which it's pinned its hopes of gaining ground on TSMC.

Apple could move to a dual-sourcing semiconductor strategy with next-gen 1.4nm chips using both Intel and TSMC for future M-series processors.