According to the well-known Apple insider Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple has reworked a part of its semiconductor supply chain by awarding Taiwan's Eternal Materials exclusive roles in supplying key packaging compounds for its 2026 iPhone and Mac processors. Eternal will supply molding underfill, known as MUF, for the A20 iPhone packages and a liquid molding compound, or LMC, for the high-end M5 Mac processors. TSMC has completed the qualification of these materials and validation for CoWoS use is underway, which could lead to initial shipments in 2026 and a larger role for Eternal in 2027 and 2028. This is noteworthy because it places a Taiwanese materials supplier into a space long dominated by Japanese firms and aligns Apple and TSMC around packaging choices that enable higher memory bandwidth and denser compute layouts.

For the iPhone, transitioning from InFO to wafer-level multi-chip module packaging with MUF reduces material consumption. It simplifies assembly by combining underfill and molding into a single wafer-level process, which is expected to improve yields and lower costs. For Macs, adopting CoWoS-compatible LMC for M5 packages provides better structural integrity, enhanced thermal paths, and more consistent manufacturing outcomes, while leaving full CoWoS adoption for future chip generations. Eternal reportedly beat established Japanese suppliers such as Namics and Nagase to win these orders, which could prompt OSAT partners and other manufacturers to trial the new compounds. It also sets a clear path for Apple to scale more complex multi-die designs in the coming years as it prepares the groundwork for CoWoS and later CoPoS-based processors.