Apple is already testing Chinese DRAM chips inside devices sold in China. | Image by China Books Review
Apple is testing RAM chips from China, and they could potentially find their way to your next iPhone, Financial Times reports. The company involved from the Chinese side is the state-backed ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), and the tests are currently limited to devices sold locally.
CXMT is currently the world’s fourth-largest producer of DRAM. | Image by Financial Times
CXMT is currently the world’s fourth-largest producer of DRAM, a memory chip you can find in many devices from smartphones to servers. The company is doing great, expected to increase its market share from 11% in 2025 to 15% by 2028.
According to the Financial Times, CXMT is one of the big players in the Chinese DRAM chip market and is poised to become central to the country's efforts to build its own AI supply chain.
The problem is the state backing of the company. At least 15 of the shareholders are entities backed by the Chinese government, accounting for 36% of CXMT. Even the private shareholders have partners that supply funds from the Chinese government.
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Back in 2022, Apple tried to get Chinese memory suppliers on board but faced significant pushback from the US government.
Would you buy an iPhone with a RAM chip made by a government-backed Chinese company?
CXMT is not on the US trade blacklist
CXMT is currently not on the US trade blacklist. | Image by InvestorNews
According to Reuters, CXMT, along with DeepSeek and over 100 other Chinese companies, are currently not on the US trade blacklist, even though they are indeed marked as national security risks.
Apparently, Trump and his administration don't want to further escalate the tension with China. Apple uses DRAM chips from Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology, with the biggest chunk going to Samsung.
Why turn to a Chinese company for DRAM chips?
CXMT could sell cheap DRAM chips to Apple, keeping the iPhone prices steady. | Image by Wccftech
Money. That's the short answer. We've talked time and again about the global chip crisis, but long story short, AI infrastructure demands are raising chip prices all over the world.
Apple is turning to CXMT for DRAM chips because the company is growing fast and it's also state-backed by the Chinese government. This means the company could flood the market with cheap DRAM chips, squeezing the competition.
This could help keep iPhone prices steady in the coming years, but in the long term could be detrimental to the global economy operating in a free market environment.
I'm not buying an iPhone with a CXMT chip inside
I'm not an iPhone with a CXMT chip inside. | Image by PixaBay
That's my personal choice, of course. I don't think that CXMT silicon will be inferior to the chips manufactured by other companies, such as Samsung or Hynix, but there are ethical reasons that are more important.
It would be very hypocritical from the US to have banned Huawei because it posed a real competitive threat (let's leave the security claims aside) but when in need of cheap silicon, turn to similar state-backed Chinese companies.
What do you think about this? Would you buy an iPhone with a RAM chip made by a government-backed Chinese company?
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Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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