Chinese memory in iPhones? US opposes Apple's plan to cut hardware costs
A recent WSJ report outlines how US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick warned Apple to walk away from its proposed move to consider CXMT and YMTC memory in new products including iPhones
The US is urging Apple to halt plans to use memory chips from Chinese firms CXMT and YMTC, citing geopolitical and national security concerns. This reported consideration by Apple was a move to address surging global memory chip prices, with initial plans suggesting deployment in China-specific products. However, the US administration's opposition, mirroring the Department of Defense's actions against CXMT, and strong pushback from Micron, a major chip producer, highlight the complex interplay of economics and international relations in hardware manufacturing.
The US is urging Apple to halt plans to use memory chips from Chinese firms CXMT and YMTC, citing geopolitical and national security concerns. This reported consideration by Apple was a move to address surging global memory chip prices, with initial plans suggesting deployment in China-specific products. However, the US administration's opposition, mirroring the Department of Defense's actions against CXMT, and strong pushback from Micron, a major chip producer, highlight the complex interplay of economics and international relations in hardware manufacturing.
The US is urging Apple to halt plans to use memory chips from Chinese firms CXMT and YMTC, citing geopolitical and national security concerns. This reported consideration by Apple was a move to address surging global memory chip prices, with initial plans suggesting deployment in China-specific products. However, the US administration's opposition, mirroring the Department of Defense's actions against CXMT, and strong pushback from Micron, a major chip producer, highlight the complex interplay of economics and international relations in hardware manufacturing.
The latest exclusive report by the Wall Street Journal on the US pressuring Apple to move away from its reported consideration of Chinese-made memory chips has reignited the discussion on the impact of geopolitics in hardware technology and manufacturing.
Apple was, as per ground reports from the US, musing the possibility of using memory produced by Chinese DRAM maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and NAND flash maker Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC).
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is said to have told the iPhone maker that using Chinese memory is not advisable, as per the WSJ.
Apple's purported move was in response to the recent surge in prices of memory chips, in a market dominated by Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix.
Given the spotty OEM history and quality concerns regarding Chinese-made hardware, Apple was reportedly looking to roll out these parts first in products sold to China itself.
However, Apple has yet to officially confirm any of this. While many market watchers think Apple talking about China-made chips is their way of pressing the market to cut memory prices, others reason that Chinese DRAM and NAND flash chips could eventually make their way into iPhones if the market situation continues.
The US administration's opposition is in line with the Department of Defence putting CXMT on its "1260H" list, reasoning that the Chinese chipmaker allegedly supports China's People's Liberation Army.
Micron, the world's third-largest memory chipmaker, which recently escalated prices of some of its products by three-fold despite no supply crunch and cut its consumer arm that used services humans unlike AI companies, also pushed back strongly at Apple's planned move.
Reports stated that Micron told the White House that Apple's planned use of China-made memory would go directly against the Trump administration's policy of bringing manufacturing back to the United States.