Apple’s Fight With Micron Just Took a Wild Turn — And It Could Reshape the Memory Market - 24/7 Wall St.

What the report says

24/7 Wall St. reported that Apple is seeking permission from the Trump administration to buy memory chips from ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT, a Chinese supplier placed on U.S. restricted-entity lists over alleged ties to China’s military and state. The article, published July 25 by Rich Duprey, says Apple’s interest reflects pressure from rising memory costs and a tight chip market shaped by artificial intelligence demand.

According to the report, Apple argues that Micron Technology has been charging excessive prices as supply constraints lift margins, while Micron is opposing any exemption that would allow Apple to turn to CXMT. 24/7 Wall St. noted that Apple recently raised prices on some MacBook and iPad models by about 20%, with Tim Cook attributing the move to higher component costs and an unusually severe memory shortage.

The article distinguishes between conventional DRAM, which CXMT can produce for devices such as PCs, smartphones and servers, and high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, which is used in AI accelerators and remains a higher-margin business for Micron. 24/7 Wall St. reported that CXMT does not make HBM, meaning any Apple approval to buy lower-cost Chinese DRAM would not directly challenge Micron’s most profitable AI-related segment.

The broader significance is the collision between supply-chain politics, national security restrictions and the economics of advanced semiconductors. Based on the publisher’s analysis, Apple wants to protect device margins, Micron wants pricing that supports large manufacturing investments, and the AI boom has made memory chips far more strategically important than in earlier cycles.