Apple tests Chinese memory chips

Apple Inc. is testing memory chips from China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) across its product lines, including iPhones and MacBooks, and is seeking White House approval to use them in products sold in China, The Wall Street Journal reported. The move comes amid an AI-induced memory shortage that led CEO Tim Cook to raise prices two months ago, but faces political hurdles after a bipartisan group of U.S. senators wrote in July to discourage Apple from using Chinese chips. CXMT, which debuted in July after a $9.8 billion IPO, remains two to three generations behind SK Hynix, Samsung, and Micron, an analyst told CNBC.

Apple is testing memory chips from China’s CXMT across its product lines, including iPhones and MacBooks, The Wall Street Journal reported, as global tech reckons with an AI-induced memory shortage. The firm is reportedly seeking the White House’s approval https://www.wsj.com/tech/apple-tests-chinese-memory-chips-as-supply-squeeze-bites-d292bb97 to use CXMT chips in products sold in China, two months after CEO Tim Cook raised prices https://abcnews.com/Business/tim-cook-prices-apple-devices-jump-amid-memory/story?id=133996174 due to chip costs. The politics could prove insurmountable: A bipartisan group of US senators wrote in July to discourage https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-29/senators-warn-apple-not-to-buy-memory-chips-from-chinese-firms Apple from pursuing Chinese chips, as Washington increased curbs on Beijing’s tech https://www.reuters.com/world/fcc-chair-says-robot-import-restrictions-aim-boost-us-production-2026-08-06/ ahead of next month’s summit. One of the most valuable mainland-listed companies https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-26/china-memory-champion-cxmt-set-to-debut-after-9-8-billion-ipo following its July IPO, CXMT remains “ two to three generations https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/07/29/cxmt-will-not-catch-up-to-sk-hynix-samsung-and-micron-anytime-soon.html ” behind firms like SK Hynix, Samsung, and Micron, an analyst told CNBC.