Apple Sets Sights On Blacklisted Chinese Memory Maker As RAM Prices Soar

Apple is reportedly urging the United States government to green light the purchase of memory chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), a Chinese semiconductor supplier that is on the Trump administration's blacklist over alleged ties to the People's Liberation Army. Citing half a dozen people who are supposedly familiar with the matter, Financial Times reports Apple is the midst of a lobbying campaign with the White House.

If CXMT sounds familiar, it may because a leaker on X recently posted screenshots indicating that Corsair is using some of the firm's memory chips in its DDR5 memory kits. However, it's not clear if any of those modules have found their way to U.S. soil, or are strictly available in China.

The report comes on the heels of Apple rolling out sweeping price increases on its Mac, iPad, and other product categories. Perhaps most notably, the official starting price for Apple's MacBook Neo is now $699, up from $599 before the price adjustments. The MacBook Neo stands out as Apple's most affordable MacBook to date, and it spurred a wave of counter moves in the Windows space, helped in part by the launch of Intel's more affordable Core Series 3 Wildcat Lake processors.

Here is a small sample of adjusted pricing on Apple's part:

• MacBook Neo: $699 (up from $599)
• MacBook Air w/ 512GB: $1,299 (up from $1,099)
• MacBook Pro w/ 1TB: $1,999 (up from $1,699
• iPad Air w/ 128GB: $749 (up from $599)

"We have shielded our customers from these increases so far, but we have now reached a point where we need ⁠to begin raising prices on a number of products, including today's increases for iPad and Mac," Cook elaborated.

The industry at large is being ravaged by an AI-driven shortage of key components, including memory and storage. This is what is driving up prices, and it is not just Apple—Microsoft, for example, just raised the price of its Xbox Series X|S consoles for the third time in just over a year, with the MSRPs being raised $100 to $150, depending on the model.

Part of what is interesting about Apple's situation is that from a legal standpoint, it is able to purchase memory chips from CXMT. However, the optics could be a problem without the White House's explicit approval, and if we are speculation, Apple may be concerned about any potential repercussions from the Trump administration.

"Apple choosing to partner with a Chinese military company would be a grave mistake," John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House China committee, told FT.

The other interesting thing to monitor is what effect, if any, a memory chip supply deal with CXMT would have on Apple's product pricing. That said, time could be of the essence, as far as capacity goes—according to Reuters, CXMT just signed a long-term supply agreement with Tencent Holdings that is worth nearly $3 billion.