Apple Testing Banned CXMT DRAM Chips to Fight Rising MacBook Prices

Apple has quietly begun testing memory chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), a state-backed Chinese manufacturer currently on a United States military blacklist, Financial Times reports.

The testing marks an intense effort by the iPhone maker to manage volatile component costs and secure supply lines amid a global hardware shortage driven by the AI boom.

According to sources familiar with the operations, Apple is evaluating CXMT’s dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips specifically for devices destined for the Chinese market. Simultaneously, the consumer electronics giant is leading a quiet lobbying push in Washington, seeking assurances from the US government to permit broader commercial ties with the Hefei-based chipmaker.

The global surge in artificial intelligence development has placed unprecedented strain on semiconductor manufacturers. Major silicon producers like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are prioritizing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for data centres and AI servers. Because factories are shifting focus toward these high-margin AI components, the supply of conventional DRAM and low-power memory for everyday consumer hardware has dropped significantly.

This supply gap has sent memory component prices up by as much as 50% to 60%. For Apple, the pricing pressure became heavy enough to force rare retail price increases on several MacBook and iPad models. Adding CXMT to its supplier roster would give Apple a vital safety valve to diversify its supply chain and gain bargaining power over its existing suppliers.

Market experts view Apple’s testing phase as a major milestone for the Chinese semiconductor industry. Financial analysts at Citi recently highlighted this shift in an investor note:

“Regardless of whether Apple gets the purchase approval, its consideration of CXMT as a potential supplier shifts market perception of CXMT from a domestic substitution play to a credible global No. 4 DRAM maker.”

CXMT currently accounts for roughly 11% of global DRAM wafer capacity, a figure projected to climb to 15% within the next two years. The massive scale of its operations in Hefei, Shanghai, and Beijing has turned the company into a central pillar of China’s domestic supply network