Apple is evaluating memory chips produced by China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) for potential use in its iPhones and MacBooks, a move that could help the company navigate a global supply squeeze driven by surging demand for artificial intelligence hardware.
The testing marks a notable step for Apple, which has traditionally relied on memory suppliers such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology. Adding a Chinese vendor to the mix would broaden Apple’s sourcing options at a time when AI data-centre expansion has tightened availability of dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM, and pushed prices higher.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple has begun qualifying CXMT’s chips for its consumer devices, though the components have not yet been approved for use in shipping products. Qualification processes at Apple are typically rigorous and can take months before a supplier is cleared for mass production.
CXMT, based in Hefei, has emerged as China’s leading DRAM manufacturer and a central player in Beijing’s drive to build a self-sufficient semiconductor industry. The company has been scaling up capacity aggressively, and recently outlined plans for a second production facility in Beijing to expand its memory output.
The AI boom has strained the memory market throughout the industry. As technology firms race to build out computing infrastructure, established suppliers have redirected capacity toward high-margin server products, leaving less supply for consumer electronics and driving up costs for device makers.
Sourcing chips from a Chinese supplier could carry commercial and political considerations for Apple. Memory components manufactured domestically may offer cost advantages and closer proximity to the company’s China-based assembly operations, but any expanded reliance on Chinese chipmakers unfolds against a backdrop of intensifying scrutiny over technology supply chains.
Apple’s relationship with the Chinese market has grown more complex in recent years amid rising local competition and shifting demand. The company reported softer sales in China earlier this year as domestic rivals gained ground.
Neither Apple nor CXMT has publicly confirmed the details of the testing. Whether the Chinese chips ultimately reach commercial devices will depend on their performance in qualification and on Apple’s broader supplier strategy.
The development underscores how the AI-driven demand surge is reshaping global component sourcing, prompting even the world’s most established hardware makers to reconsider where and from whom they buy critical parts.