Apple is currently navigating a significant memory problem driven by a global chip shortage that is simultaneously squeezing supply and pushing prices higher. To combat these rising costs and constrained availability, the tech giant has spent months actively looking for new places to source the memory required for its devices.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple has sought to expand its supplier options to manage the shortfall. Reports indicate that Apple has tested DRAM from Chinese manufacturer CXMT and has also been heavily considering YMTC as another potential supplier.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously stated that the company is comprehensively evaluating its available options to address tighter memory supplies. Furthermore, Apple COO Sabih Khan noted that memory components do not require the same extensive degree of customization as many other highly specialized parts inside an iPhone.

This lack of deep customization could potentially allow Apple to utilize more readily available chips from these alternative suppliers. However, the Trump administration and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are heavily opposing the idea of relying on Chinese manufacturers.

Supply Chain Complexities

If Apple ultimately needed these companies to customize their chips, sharing specific technical information could potentially run afoul of US export restrictions. Such an information exchange would require explicit government approval, transforming a standard supply-chain decision into a major political hurdle.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has clearly communicated to Apple that the current administration does not want the company purchasing memory chips from Chinese manufacturers. Leaving little room for interpretation, Lutnick argued that the company must find other ways to address the ongoing shortage.

Domestic Expansion Efforts

That domestic expansion shows Apple is putting serious money behind manufacturing in the US, but it doesn’t solve every part of its enormous global supply chain overnight. Memory is rapidly becoming one of the most prominent sticking points in this transition.

While Apple still wants to secure more suppliers to deal with constrained availability, getting Chinese manufacturers into the mix looks increasingly complicated. For now, Apple urgently needs more memory chips, and Washington strongly prefers that the company finds them somewhere else.