I wouldn't even say they lead in hardware design. Their own designs are still years behind. They can build stuff cheaply yes. They can even build quality stuff cheaply. But they don't design much on their own that is competitive. They are still copy and paste. Look at the CPUs, they have nothing on Taiwan. Look at GPUs, they have nothing on the west. Their cars copy and pasted from the west still struggle with durability and safety.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Testing Chinese Memory Chips in iPhones and MacBooks
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
PsykX
macrumors 68040
I have to disagree.
Their software is absolutely crappy.
It's ugly, buggy, slow, localization is absolutely atrocious (when they do it!) and obviously contains a bunch of security holes. We're far from Apple, Google and Microsoft here.
Indeed.
Spy cameras on Navy drones secretly sent data to China
Special forces boats set for use in planned Gulf missions were fitted with Chinese-made components
www.telegraph.co.uk
Memory is a commodity device subject to the vagaries of commodity swings in supply and demand. Two years ago there was too much memory for companies to make money. Today, they charge outrageous prices. When the AI investment bubble bursts, we'll find a new, lower, equilibrium, but likely not as low as the below-cost prices two years ago.
Happy_John
macrumors 68000
It doesn’t need to be good. It only needs to be “good enough” - which is why Xhina has such a hold on “non sexy” hardware - NAS, routers, switches etc.
Again, saying Chinese production is not a threat to USA’s tech because quality is lower is a very foolish position to take. There was a time that was true, but it is not true now.
Where China has a massive advantage over ID tech is price. When it comes down to it, making te u that is “almost as polished but much cheaper” is a strong position.
Look around where you are right now and think how much of the stuff around you was designed and/or manufactured in China.
The issue isn’t quality, it’s security.
rchaser
macrumors regular
Robert.Walter
macrumors 68040
First step towards China commoditizing RAM and dominating this market too.
Apple has been testing memory chips from China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) across product lines including iPhones and MacBooks, according to a report today from The Wall Street Journal ($).
Laptop makers HP and Acer have already started using memory chips from CXMT in devices sold outside the U.S. Meanwhile, Apple has held early talks with CXMT about supplying components for devices sold in China, and the company is hoping for a sign-off from the White House before going further. The Financial Times reported last month that Apple had begun qualifying CXMT's DRAM, but today's report is the first to place that testing inside specific product categories.
What could scupper any potential deal are U.S. rules that bar American companies from transferring technology to CXMT, including conversations about technical details and product specifications. Export lawyer Kevin Wolf of Akin Gump told WSJ that Apple can buy off-the-shelf CXMT components and haggle over price, but it can't commission chips designed to its own requirements.
Apple usually has memory specially configured to work optimally with its own silicon, so using standard parts could mean reworking sections of its hardware, or potentially settling for less-than-ideal performance.
What's making Apple's life harder is the fact that a bipartisan group of senators led by Chuck Schumer has asked the company to rule out using Chinese memory entirely. A response to the request is due August 21.
There are supply issues to contend with as well. CXMT has reportedly maxed out production for the year and has little room for new international customers, having already prioritized domestic buyers such as ByteDance, Tencent, and Xiaomi. Its prices reportedly sit level with (and sometimes above) those of Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung. That's bad news for Apple. A fourth supplier only helps if it has chips to sell and sells them cheaper. Right now though, CXMT does neither.
Apple raised prices across its product lineup (excepting iPhone models) in June, blaming memory costs driven by the AI infrastructure demand.
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Article Link: Apple Testing Chinese Memory Chips in iPhones and MacBooks
Nobody ever learns.
Robert.Walter
macrumors 68040
Best day to have built those fabs was every day before today, best 2nd day to start building those fabs is today.
NT1440
macrumors P6
According to Apple’s taxes, they’re already an Irish corporation 😉
emulator
macrumors 65816
Happy_John
macrumors 68000
Not exactly.
Apple is a US corporation based in Cupertino, CA, USA
Apple Distribution International Limited is a limited company based in Cork, Ireland. A Limited Company, not a Public Limited Company. As such, it does not have to disclose as much financial data as a publicly traded company is obliged to.
ADIL makes ridiculously large profits each year, in Ireland.
Apple owns 100% of the shares of ADIL. Shares of ADIL have never been traded publicly, or have ever been bought or sold.
Last edited:
The fact that there isn’t is mind boggling to me. I understand the logistic as to why but still. How is all of that manufacturing centred in one area lol
Apple should not be able to sell any products with Chinese made chips in them in this Country.
Apple is being very foolish
Apple is being very foolish
ThailandToo
macrumors 65816
As long as everything gets shipped to China and assembled there, who knows what happens anyways. And unfortunately, Taiwan is China, just ask the People’s Republic of China.
Since we outsourced most of our manufacturing to cheap sweatshops, the problems with tech devices are only going to get worse.
www.syracuse.com
A common item in your house may now be illegal, according to US government
The FCC warned of potential cybersecurity risks.
History will not record it that way because politicians are not the actual cause of the shortage. Technoligarchs like Elon, supervisionaries like Thiel, and companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google don’t need to lobby anybody. When the AI river started flooding, there were no political dams regulating its flow and there still aren’t any.