Apple is one of the most desirable customers for manufacturers of chips and any other components of its devices. Especially when it comes to the iPhone, the company's flagship product. TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) is one of Apple's longstanding partners and remains so today.
For example, in February 2011, Jeff Williams, then the head of international procurement at Apple, approached Chang in a short phone conversation:
We need to pause our discussions for two months because the highest level of Intel has approached Tim Cook and has asked Tim Cook to consider Intel.
It is worth remembering that at that time Intel was already a supplier of Mac processors. However, as Chang points out, it was about making chips for the iPhone. He also added that in those days, "Intel was no longer a name that you would, when you hear it, you would stand up and bow." And although he had to accept Williams' position, he "wasn't all that worried."
TSMC's founder explained his calmness by the fact that he was well acquainted with Intel's customers and the company's reputation:
Before Apple became our customer, I knew a lot of Intel’s customers in Taiwan—you know, all the PC makers are Intel’s customers. None of them liked Intel. Intel always acted like they were the only guy.
Later, Morris Chang met with Tim Cook at the Apple campus, where he heard a "very brief and comforting" statement about the situation from the Apple CEO over lunch:
There's nothing to worry about because Intel just does not know how to be a foundry.
Listen to the full podcast with Morris Chang (in English):