Apple CEO Ternus keeps Chinese memory chips on the table

Apple CEO John Ternus has called the global memory chip shortage a crisis and declined to rule out buying chips from Chinese suppliers. That leaves room for a sourcing plan that has already drawn bipartisan objections in Washington. "The constraints in memory are absolutely a crisis," Ternus told TIME in a profile published Thursday, October 15. "So our fundamental belief is that all options should be on the table."en.sedaily.com

Ternus became CEO on September 1. His comments are the clearest sign so far that Apple is still considering memory from ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC). Both companies are on a U.S. Defense Department blacklist, Seoul Economic Daily reported.asiae.co.kr

Cook's China-only proposal

Bloomberg first reported earlier this year that Apple was negotiating to buy memory from CXMT and YMTC, mainly for devices sold in China, according to Investing.com's summary. The same report said Tim Cook, then CEO, personally asked Trump administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, for regulatory assurances. Apple was concerned that Washington could tighten sanctions after a deal was signed. Cook stepped down in September and is now executive chairman. He is reportedly still pushing a plan to use Chinese memory only in devices sold in China, Asia Economy reported.asiae.co.kr+1

The Financial Times reported in July that Apple had begun testing CXMT chips, according to TIME. Ternus did not say how his approach to Washington might differ from Cook's. He told the magazine he has met members of the Trump administration to "make sure we're kind of working through things together." He said Cook "has great relationships and loves Apple," and is "happy to help" wherever he can.time.com

Pushback in Washington

The plan faces strong opposition. Senator Chuck Schumer led a bipartisan group of senators demanding that Apple commit not to use CXMT or YMTC memory in any product sold anywhere in the world. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the administration opposes large American companies sourcing memory from China and that he told Apple so directly, TheStreet reported, citing The Wall Street Journal News Corp ↘ 0.54%. Micron Technology ↘ 5.63% lobbied administration officials to keep Chinese makers out of major U.S. tech supply chains, Seoul Economic Daily reported.schumer.senate.gov+2

Why memory is scarce

The shortage is driven by demand from AI data centers. Samsung Electronics, SK hynix ↘ 6.58% and Micron have moved production toward high-bandwidth memory for AI servers. Contract prices for standard DRAM rose an estimated 55% to 60% in early 2026, and Apple has raised prices across several product lines, according to Investing.com. TrendForce estimates that memory now makes up about 34% of the iPhone Pro's bill of materials, up from about 10% a year earlier, TheStreet reported.thestreet.com+1

Chinese suppliers may not be able to provide much relief. SemiAnalysis analyst Ray Wang said CXMT's capacity is "extremely constrained" and will stay that way for at least two years, Edaily reported.edaily.co.kr