Memory shortage. Apple tests Chinese chips for iPhone and MacBook

Apple is negotiating with Chinese memory-chip maker CXMT over the possible supply of components for devices that will be sold in China.

This is reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Gaining access to Chinese resources should help the company alleviate the chip shortage.

More on chip supplies from China

According to the WSJ, Apple wants to obtain approval from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to cooperate with the Chinese manufacturer.

However, U.S. rules limit Apple’s ability to work with CXMT. In particular, American companies are prohibited from transferring technology to the Chinese company, including technical details and product specifications.

This effectively makes it impossible to commission CXMT to produce chips designed specifically for Apple. At the same time, the rules allow Apple to buy CXMT’s ready-made standard components and to negotiate their price with the company.

Apple also often adapts components for specific devices. Therefore, using CXMT’s standard chips may require changes to the design of certain product components.

The talks come amid rising memory prices. In addition, Apple has already been raising prices for its products worldwide, citing the higher cost of chips caused by strong demand from companies developing artificial intelligence.

Can CXMT supply chips to Apple?

The WSJ writes that CXMT currently cannot fully meet Apple’s memory needs. According to the paper’s sources, the Chinese manufacturer has already exhausted its production capacity for this year and has little capacity to work with new international clients.

CXMT also lags behind foreign competitors in terms of technology. One reason cited is the company’s limited access to the most advanced chip-manufacturing equipment.

At the same time, other manufacturers have already started buying CXMT memory. HP and Acer use its chips in devices sold outside the U.S. to mitigate the impact of the memory shortage. The companies have already received limited volumes of components and are trying to secure additional supplies for next year.

What U.S. officials say about buying Chinese chips

U.S. officials fear that orders from large American companies could give CXMT additional funding and access to American technologies.

The Pentagon has already added CXMT to a list of companies linked to China’s military.

CXMT is currently prioritizing Chinese tech companies, including ByteDance, Tencent and Xiaomi. The manufacturer is building new facilities and plans to more than double its production capacity by 2028.

What is known about chip price increases

In May 2026 Apple reported a record quarter, but warned of possible problems due to a shortage of memory chips.

Tim Cook noted that the company has already spent more on memory chips than before, and these expenses could rise significantly in upcoming quarters.

This is due to a global shortage that has arisen from the rapid demand from the artificial intelligence industry.

In March 2026, European companies that import semiconductors from Asia also faced delays and rising shipping costs, though due to the war in the Middle East. Disruptions to air freight are forcing businesses to use stockpiles and pay more for logistics.

Moreover, the conflict in the Middle East led to disruptions in the supply of raw materials for electronics and a sharp rise in prices for printed circuit boards (PCBs). This affects device manufacturers worldwide.

This is the so-called RAMageddon — when companies buy up memory en masse for AI systems, pushing prices up. For Apple, which largely depends on hardware production, this means higher product costs.

This may hit the iPhone the hardest: according to market data, the cost of RAM has already quadrupled. The company does not rule out that this could also affect end-user prices.

What is known about Apple hardware price increases

At the end of June 2026, Apple raised prices on a number of its devices, including MacBook and iPad. 

The company explained that it can no longer absorb rising component costs. Primarily this concerns memory chips and storage drives, which have become more expensive due to the AI boom.

Also in recent months memory manufacturers, including Micron Technology, have been prioritizing orders from companies building AI data centers—for example, NVIDIA.

As a result, a shortage of chips has emerged on the market for manufacturers of laptops, tablets and smartphones.

According to analytics firm TrendForce, prices for RAM rose almost 98% in Q1 2026, and in the current quarter they could rise another 58–63%.

“We’ve never seen component prices rise so much and so quickly,” Apple said. The company noted that it had so far tried not to pass these costs on to customers, but now has been forced to revise prices.

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