Intel may be inching back into Apple’s hardware empire, but not in the way Mac users may remember. Apple and Intel have reportedly reached a preliminary understanding on a potential chip manufacturing deal after more than a year of talks, according to The Wall Street Journal. If finalized, the agreement could give Apple another manufacturing partner beyond TSMC while handing Intel a high-profile win for its foundry business. The talks also carry a larger political and market charge: Apple wants more chip-supply flexibility, Intel wants proof its manufacturing comeback is real, and Washington wants more advanced semiconductor production tied to US companies. Apple’s brief migration out of Intel Apple and Intel have a long but uneven relationship. For years, Intel supplied processors for Macs before Apple began transitioning away in 2020 to its own in-house chips, branded Apple Silicon. That shift ended a reliance that began in 2006 and marked a major change in Apple’s hardware strategy.…