Apple Tests China’s CXMT Memory Chips Amid Global Chip Shortage

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence technology worldwide has triggered a severe chip shortage in the technology market. To address the crisis, US technology giant Apple is testing memory chips from China’s leading memory-chip manufacturer CXMT in some of its popular devices, including iPhones and MacBooks. The revelation was made in a report by the influential US newspaper The Wall Street Journal.

According to sources familiar with the matter, Apple has begun preliminary discussions with CXMT with the aim of using its chips in selected devices sold exclusively in the Chinese market. CXMT, or ChangXin Memory Technologies, is currently China’s largest chip manufacturer by market value. However, neither international news agency Reuters nor Apple and CXMT immediately commented on the matter.

A New Source to Address the Shortage

The enormous demand for memory chips from AI-powered servers and data centers has tightened the global supply of processors and memory components for conventional electronic products. As a result, alongside the world’s leading chip suppliers, the US tech giant is turning to local manufacturers as an additional source of supply. This is not the first time CXMT chips have been used by major technology companies. Laptop manufacturers HP and Acer have already begun using CXMT memory chips in products sold outside the United States.

Regulatory and Technological Challenges

Existing trade tensions between China and the United States could make such a chip deal particularly complicated for Apple. Under US export-control restrictions, Apple cannot directly exchange certain technical information with CXMT. As a result, rather than having CXMT manufacture customized chips specifically for iPhones, Apple is reportedly exploring the use of CXMT’s existing standard memory chips.

At the same time, Apple is facing pressure from US lawmakers to avoid increasing its dependence on Chinese companies.

CXMT is already planning to build its second factory in Beijing to increase production. According to trade analysts, securing a major customer such as Apple could pose a significant challenge to the dominance of other Asian technology giants, including Samsung and SK Hynix, in the global memory-chip market.

//DBTech/BMT/OR//