NEW YORK — Apple Chief Executive John Ternus has signaled that the company may consider using Chinese-made memory chips as a global supply crunch drags on.
In an interview with Time magazine published on the 15th, local time, Ternus said constraints in the memory chip sector amount to an absolute crisis, adding that the fundamental view is that all options have to be on the table. The remarks were read as a sign that Apple will keep open the possibility of using Chinese memory chips. Ternus also said the company has met with Trump administration officials to make sure the two sides are working through the problem together.
Apple held talks in the first half of this year to buy chips from two Chinese memory makers, ChangXin Memory Technologies and Yangtze Memory Technologies, both of which are on a U.S. Defense Department blacklist. The company concluded that relying on only the three incumbent suppliers — Samsung Electronics (005930), SK hynix (000660) and Micron Technology — would not secure enough memory supply. Former Apple CEO Tim Cook personally asked Trump administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, to help cushion the political fallout that such a deal could trigger.
Apple's consideration of Chinese chips has run into strong pushback from U.S. industry and lawmakers. Micron actively lobbied Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other administration officials, arguing that Chinese manufacturers should not be allowed to supply major U.S. technology companies such as Apple. Senators from both parties sent a letter to Cook urging a commitment not to use products from ChangXin or Yangtze Memory.
Even so, Apple is reported to be testing ChangXin chips. Ternus, a hardware veteran, took over as Apple's new chief on the 1st of last month.