Apple's Reported Push To Buy Chinese Memory Chips Isn't About Lower Prices, It's About Surviving A Worsening AI-Driven Supply Crunch, Says A

Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL ) reported effort to secure access to memory chips from a Chinese supplier reflects mounting concerns over future chip availability rather than a search for lower costs, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

AI Data Centers Are Reshaping The Global Memory Market In a post on Sunday, Kuo said the “memory supply-demand gap will keep widening through 2027,” arguing that this is the real reason Apple is lobbying the Donald Trump administration to keep ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) off the U.S.

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According to Kuo, the pressure on Apple has shifted “from soaring memory costs to a widening supply gap.” He estimates that 15% to 20% of memory capacity currently allocated to consumer electronics in 2026 could be redirected to AI data centers in 2027, with that share likely to increase further.

As a result, Apple could receive 10% to 20% fewer A20 chips than originally planned during the second half of 2026 through the first quarter of 2027 because of tight LPDDR memory supply, though Kuo noted some of the shortfall could also reflect Apple overbooking orders.

Read Also: AOC Targets Apple, Calls For Breakup Of 'Far Too Big' Companies After Tim Cook Defends Price Hikes: Need 'Consumer Protections' For People Why Apple Wants CXMT Despite Limited Capacity Kuo argued that adding CXMT would not significantly lower Apple’s memory costs because the Chinese chipmaker’s own IPO filing indicates its production capacity remains well below domestic demand. “Even if Apple’s lobbying succeeds and it buys DRAM from CXMT, that would not materially lower costs or fill the supply gap,” Kuo wrote.

Instead, he said Apple is seeking “an additional source” as the global memory imbalance worsens.

He contrasted the current situation with Apple’s reported evaluation of Yangtze Memory Technologies in 2022, saying that the effort was primarily aimed at reducing NAND costs, whereas the CXMT push is about managing DRAM supply risk.

The memory supply-demand gap will keep widening through 2027.

That is the real reason Apple is lobbying the White House to keep CXMT off the Entity List. ▌Start with my latest industry checks: The pressure on Apple has shifted from soaring memory costs to a widening supply gap.… — 郭明錤｜Ming-Chi Kuo (@mingchikuo) June 28, 2026 Apple Seeks Supply Security As Memory Crunch Deepens Kuo’s comments followed a Financial Times report that Apple is lobbying U.S. officials for assurances that CXMT will not be added to the Commerce Department’s Entity List, which would impose stricter export restrictions.

While CXMT remains on the Pentagon’s 1260H list, Apple is reportedly seeking greater certainty as an industrywide memory shortage, fueled by AI demand, drives higher component costs, production constraints and longer delivery times.

Last week, Apple raised prices on products including the MacBook Neo, MacBook Air, iPad Pro, iPad Air, HomePod, HomePod mini and Apple TV —while leaving iPhone prices unchanged—citing tighter memory and storage supplies amid rising AI infrastructure demand.

Why Apple’s CXMT Push May Not Hurt Micron Meanwhile, Milk Road AI analyst Melvin said the concern that Apple’s reported push to source memory chips from China’s CXMT could hurt Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU ) may be overstated.

He also stated that Micron’s growth is increasingly tied to high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI rather than commodity DRAM.

Melvin said investors are focusing on the wrong part of the memory market, arguing CXMT mainly competes in commodity memory products such as DDR4, DDR5 and LPDDR chips used in consumer devices, while remaining at least one generation behind in HBM technology.

He said Apple’s reported efforts are aimed at lowering memory procurement costs, whereas Micron is focused on higher-value AI memory products, where tight supply continues to support pricing.

Price Action: Apple shares rose 3.14% to close at $283.78 on Friday before slipping 0.45% to $282.50 in after-hours trading, according to Pro.

Edge Stock Rankings place Apple in the 98th percentile for Quality, reflecting strong long-term fundamentals despite weaker performance over shorter time frames.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published editors.

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