Apple tests DRAM chips from China’s CXMT for devices sold in China, reports say

A few days ago some reports claimed Apple was considering using Chinese RAM from ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC). Today, a new report claims the company is already testing DRAM chips from CXMT. But there's a twist. Allegedly, Apple would only be using the Chinese-made RAM for devices it will sell in China. That might be a way to minimize the backlash that could ensue from the Trump administration, seeing as how the US government has added both CXMT and YMTC to its Entity List, which identifies companies that have ties to the Chinese...

Apple's testing of memory chips from CXMT, a supplier black-listed by the U.S. government, could help ease the RAM pricing crisis. It's nowhere near enough to solve the problem.A Samsung LPDDR5X memory chip - Image Credit: SamsungIn late June, Apple reportedly asked the Trump administration to allow it to buy RAM chips from a supplier in China that the U.S. had blacklisted. As Cupertino waits on Washington, it is allegedly testing out the memory from the blackballed company.According to two sources cited by the Financial Times, Apple has started to test DRAM chips produced by CXMT (ChangXin Memory Technologies). Apple has acquired memory chips intended for use in smartphones and devices sold in China. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

After Apple started lobbying the US government for approval to use memory chips from CXMT, The Financial Times now reports that the company is actively testing the components for devices sold in China. Here are the details.

Apple is testing DRAM memory chips from China's state-backed ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), according to a new report from the Financial Times. Last week, it emerged that Apple was in discussions with CXMT and fellow Chinese chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) about sourcing memory, with no deal finalized. The new details suggest Apple has since progressed to qualifying CXMT's chips specifically, running the company's memory through the kind of technical validation that typically precedes a supplier being approved for production use. Apple has apparently still not committed to using CXMT's chips commercially, and is continuing to lead a lobbying effort among U.S. tech companies to get Washington's blessing for broader use of the supplier's products. CXMT has grown from a heavily subsidized and unremarkable domestic chip maker into the world's fourth-largest DRAM producer, behind Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology, accounting for roughly 11% of global DRAM wafer capacity last year. That share is expected to climb to 15% by 2028 as new production lines come online in Hefei, Shanghai, and Beijing. Qualifying CXMT as a working supplier now would let Apple tap into that capacity as soon as it needs to, rather than starting the testing process from scratch once a political green light arrives. Standard DRAM contract prices are reported to have surged an estimated 55% to 60% in early 2026 as AI server demand pulled capacity away from consumer devices, and Apple recently raised prices across almost its entire product lineup as a result. A qualified fourth DRAM supplier would give Apple leverage in future negotiations with Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, as well as a potential hedge against further shortage-driven price increases on devices built for the Chinese market. Both CXMT and YMTC appear on the Pentagon's 1260H roster of firms Washington links to the Chinese military. In practice, that mostly cuts off Defense Department contracting rather than blocking ordinary commercial purchases, so nothing legally stops Apple from buying CXMT chips today. YMTC carries a heavier restriction, since it's also on the Commerce Department's Entity List, meaning any U.S. company needs an export license before dealing with it. What Apple reportedly wants from the administration is a promise that CXMT won't get pushed onto that same Entity List down the road, since that would effectively cut off the supply. Back in 2022, an earlier attempt to work with Chinese memory suppliers, including YMTC, drew objections from Washington and was shelved after lawmakers pushed back. According to Bloomberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook has now taken the pitch directly to administration officials, framing it as a way to route Chinese-made memory into devices for the Chinese market specifically, which would leave more Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron chips available for products sold elsewhere. Not everyone in the administration is said to be on board, so it remains unclear whether the lobbying push will succeed.Tags: China, Financial TimesThis article, "Apple Begins Testing Controversial Chinese Memory Chips" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

Apple is testing memory chips from CXMT, a state-backed Chinese chipmaker on the Pentagon's watchlist. Washington pushed back once before. It likely will again.

Apple has begun testing memory chips from China’s state-backed CXMT for devices sold in China, the Financial Times reports. That puts it behind a supplier Washington has flagged as a security risk. Apple has turned to Chinese memory chips for its own devices. It has begun testing DRAM from state-backed ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), the […] This story continues at The Next Web