Apple is asking the Trump administration for special permission to buy memory chips from a restricted Chinese company, reports The Financial Times. The tech giant wants this approval to deal with a massive global memory shortage that is driving up the cost of building its devices. After recently hiking the prices on several of its popular gadgets, the brand hopes this move will eventually help lower the financial pressure on its buyers.
The company wants to buy parts from a restricted Chinese supplier
The tech giant reached out to the Department of Commerce to ask if it could buy parts from a Chinese manufacturer named CXMT. The problem is that the Pentagon placed CXMT on a blacklist. This list restricts American businesses from working with these groups because of suspected ties to the Chinese military.
While it is technically possible for the brand to buy from these suppliers, dealing with blacklisted companies brings heavy scrutiny from the government. Lawmakers have strongly opposed similar ideas in the past. Still, the company wants to explore every option to secure enough parts.
Surging memory prices force the brand to make tough hardware decisions
This push for new suppliers comes right after a wave of price hikes. The brand just raised the cost of its laptops and tablets because the price of computer memory has jumped so high. This crunch is happening because tech companies are buying massive amounts of chips for artificial intelligence servers, leaving less supply for everyday gadgets.
The market reacted poorly to these changes, as we saw how Apple’s stock dropped after higher prices rolled out across Macs and iPads recently. Before this shift, we also watched as Apple raised the Mac mini M4 Pro price by $200 amid rising component costs.
Experts believe the phone lineup might be next to see higher price tags if the company cannot find cheaper parts. Reports even suggest that Apple’s next CEO may approve iPhone price hikes of $100 or more due to RAM shortage later this year.
If the government approves this request, it could help the brand lock down the memory chips it needs. For now, the company has to wait and see if it gets the green light or if it will have to keep passing high costs along to shoppers.
