Apple bought P. A. Semi in 2008 [1]. The M1 launched in 2020 [2]. These moves could easily be in preparation for a move in the 2030s. This sort of planning is what makes Apple special. (Caveat: the A4 launched in ~2010. But the ditching Intel was the titanic move that set the board for.)
Semiconductor shortage won't last forever. There's a cycle. Maybe now is good timing to design new chips that released at a few years later. Anyway Apple can sell their entire device for $$ so they can raise price to pay to TSMC.
The other thing is that there would very likely be some awkward overlap between an Apple Console and an Apple TV, especially considering Apple's consistency in product design. Having two little black boxes on the market, both of which handle media and neither of which is a computer, would be confusing for consumers.
Which doesn't mean Apple isn't interested in gaming. I think they are, a lot. I'd say a more likely scenario is that Apple starts quietly—or not so quietly—beefing up its Apple TV line into something that ultimately turns into a console. Bolster their Metal API, ship an Apple TV with an M5 (or whatever they call 2025/6's version of Apple Silicon), line up some big-name titles that you can rent/buy/stream through the device, and I think they’d be a force to be reckoned with.
Imagine an eGPU that is compatible with any Mac/iDevice, just plug and play.
About a week ago I predicted that Apple would release a console, and that the Activision/Microsoft merger was not as much as a move to counter Sony's dominance, but as a moat against Apple.
Apple positions themselves as a premium brand with a premium price which runs completely counter to the console model of subsidized hardware. It just doesn't make any sense for them to enter the console marketplace. Especially when the "big" games on Apple's platforms are essentially all Gatcha titles that are ALSO on Android. Sure the Apple console has a better looking version of Raid Shadow Legends but the Samsung Galaxy Player is a third the cost and the Chinese one from some brand you've never heard of is a fifth.
- Making this kind of play (especially at high-resolution) requires an insane amount of GPU power that just doesn't really exist. On a good day the M1 can bench against a desktop 1050, which doesn't even meet the minimum recommended requirements for low-res PC VR. Quality, modern gaming is straight-up out of the question at that performance profile.
- TSMC is maxxed out right now, entering a new product segment might threaten to cannibalize their Mac or iPhone supply chain.
- Apple doesn't have a graphics API that anyone cares about. Sure, they could use MoltenVK to attempt some ridiculous PCVR compatibility layer, but it's just outright not feasible. This machine is going to need all the overhead it can get, translation layers would murder it's performance in cold blood.