Apple seeks Chinese memory chips amid global shortage and price hikes

Apple is negotiating with two Chinese semiconductor firms—ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC)—to source DRAM and NAND memory for devices sold in China. Both companies appear on the U.S. Department of Defense’s blacklist for alleged ties to the Chinese military, prompting Apple to lobby the Trump administration for exemptions. The move follows a sharp rise in memory component prices, driven by AI‑related demand that has pushed DRAM costs up 55‑80 % and NAND up 33‑38 % in the first quarter of 2026. Apple has already raised prices on its MacBook and iPad lines, causing a 6 % share‑price drop and an estimated $263 billion loss in market value.

The same memory‑price surge is affecting other smartphone makers. Xiaomi’s Redmi Note series, which has sold over 500 million units, is seeing storage costs rise from 20 % to 40 % of total bill‑of‑materials, threatening the profitability of its sub‑$200 phones. Xiaomi president Lu Weibing warned that low‑end phones are hit hardest and announced the upcoming Redmi Note 17 as the brand’s new mid‑range benchmark, emphasizing a need to maintain performance for mass‑market users.