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Apple Begins Testing Controversial Chinese Memory Chips
MacRumors • • business
Key Points:
- Apple is testing DRAM memory chips from China's state-backed ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and has progressed to technical validation, though no commercial deal has been finalized.
- CXMT has become the world's fourth-largest DRAM producer, expected to increase its global wafer capacity share to 15% by 2028, making it a strategic potential supplier for Apple.
- Qualifying CXMT chips could help Apple mitigate rising DRAM prices driven by AI server demand and provide leverage against major suppliers like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron.
- CXMT is on the Pentagon's list linking it to the Chinese military, but this mainly restricts Defense contracts and does not legally prevent Apple from purchasing its chips, unlike YMTC which faces stricter export controls.
- Apple is lobbying the U.S. government to avoid CXMT being added to the Commerce Department's Entity List, aiming to secure a stable supply of Chinese-made memory for devices sold in China, though the administration remains divided on the issue.
