Apple has begun technical qualification testing of DRAM memory chips made by ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China’s largest domestic memory producer and a company the Pentagon has designated as a Chinese military company, for use in iPhones and MacBooks sold specifically in the Chinese market. The move comes as AI-driven demand has sent global DRAM prices climbing, squeezing margins for every major device maker. CXMT, founded in 2016, holds roughly 7-8% of the global DRAM market. Its trajectory hit a new peak on July 27, 2026, when it debuted on Shanghai’s STAR Market, raising approximately $8.6B, with shares surging more than 466% on their first day of trading. As of early August 2026, Apple has not confirmed any commercial use of CXMT chips, and testing remains confined to devices destined for China. On July 29, 2026, bipartisan US senators urged Apple to reject CXMT chips outright. Apple previously explored using NAND flash memory from Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC) for China-sold iPhones in 2022, but ended that experiment after US government pressure; YMTC was subsequently added to the Commerce Department’s Entity List. Apple is proactively engaging with US officials this time, seeking clearance. Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron collectively control the vast majority of global production, prioritizing high-margin AI memory products like H