GoKawiilApple reportedly wants to buy Chinese RAM for its products from not one but two different firms. The move would likely require permission from the United States government.
On Friday, The Financial Times reported that Apple wants to buy RAM from Chinese companies, including CXMT.
Apple has reportedly been lobbying the Trump administration for clearance before adding CXMT as a memory chip supplier. That’s because the Pentagon essentially has the China-based company on a ban list.
Bloomberg corroborates The FT report today, adding that Apple is lobbying Washington and “in negotations” with two different Chinese companies. The report highlights both CXMT and YMTC, which are each on the Pentagon’s ban list.
Apple Inc. is in negotiations to purchase chips from two Chinese semiconductor makers on a Pentagon blacklist to help reduce the impact of a global memory shortage that’s forced the company to raise prices across its product line. The iPhone maker is seeking to buy memory components from ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc. and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. for use in devices sold in China, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move comes after Apple says it was forced to raise prices on Macs, iPads, and other products that use storage and memory chips.
Apple says its cost to purchase these components has increased, and it’s forced to pass the price increase along to customers to preserve its margins.
While Macs and iPads were hit with dramatic price increases in June, Apple hasn’t raised prices on iPhones yet. The company is expected to introduce new models in September, however, which are expected to cost more than current models.
You can read today’s Bloomberg report in full here.