Taipei, May 11 -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is expected to remain Apple's primary chip manufacturing partner despite reports that Apple could shift some orders to Intel, according to a report by Focus Taiwan.

Citing industry experts, the report noted on Sunday that the technological lead and production stability of the world's largest foundry made it indispensable for Apple's core devices for the foreseeable future.

The report mentioned that the comments followed a report by The Wall Street Journal on Friday that Apple and Intel reached a preliminary agreement after more than a year of negotiations. The deal reportedly involved Intel manufacturing some chips for Apple devices, signaling a potential diversification in...