Apple has been testing memory chips from China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) across product lines including iPhones and MacBooks, according to a report today from The Wall Street Journal ($).
Laptop makers HP and Acer have already started using memory chips from CXMT in devices sold outside the U.S. Meanwhile, Apple has held early talks with CXMT about supplying components for devices sold in China, and the company is hoping for a sign-off from the White House before going further. The Financial Times reported last month that Apple had begun qualifying CXMT's DRAM, but today's report is the first to place that testing inside specific product categories.
What could scupper any potential deal are U.S. rules that bar American companies from transferring technology to CXMT, including conversations about technical details and product specifications. Export lawyer Kevin Wolf of Akin Gump told WSJ that Apple can buy off-the-shelf CXMT components and haggle over price, but it can't commission chips designed to its own requirements.
Apple usually has memory specially configured to work optimally with its own silicon, so using standard parts could mean reworking sections of its hardware, or potentially settling for less-than-ideal performance.
What's making Apple's life harder is the fact that a bipartisan group of senators led by Chuck Schumer has asked the company to rule out using Chinese memory entirely. A response to the request is due August 21.
There are supply issues to contend with as well. CXMT has reportedly maxed out production for the year and has little room for new international customers, having already prioritized domestic buyers such as ByteDance, Tencent, and Xiaomi. Its prices reportedly sit level with (and sometimes above) those of Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung. That's bad news for Apple. A fourth supplier only helps if it has chips to sell and sells them cheaper. Right now though, CXMT does neither.
Apple raised prices across its product lineup (excepting iPhone models) in June, blaming memory costs driven by the AI infrastructure demand.
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