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Why Apple Is Keeping Chinese Memory Chips on the Table
On October 15, 2026, Apple CEO John Ternus said the memory shortage was a crisis and “all options” should remain open. Apple had reportedly tested CXMT memory and discussed sourcing from CXMT and YMTC, while bipartisan senators urged the company to reject both suppliers for products sold anywhere, including China.
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Key takeaways
- On October 15, 2026, Apple CEO John Ternus said the memory shortage was a crisis and “all options” should remain open.
- Apple had reportedly tested CXMT memory and discussed sourcing from CXMT and YMTC, while bipartisan senators urged the company to reject both suppliers for products sold anywhere, including China.
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openai.comCreate a landscape editorial hero image for this Studio Global article: Why is Apple CEO John Ternus keeping Chinese memory suppliers CXMT and YMTC under consideration amid the global memory-chip shortage, and ho. Article summary: Ternus’s position is best understood as keeping supply alternatives open during a severe shortage—not announcing a decision to buy Chinese chips. After becoming CEO on September 1, he told TIME in its October 15 intervie. Topic tags: general. Style: premium digital editorial illustration, source-backed research mood, clean composition, high detail, modern web publication hero. Use reference image context only for broad subject, composition, and topical grounding; do not copy the exact image. Avoid: logos, brand marks, copyrighted characters, real person likenesses, fake screenshots, UI text, readable text, watermarks, charts with fake numbers, clickbait thumbna
Apple CEO John Ternus’s message was about keeping supply choices open, not announcing a purchase from China. In a TIME interview published October 15, 2026, he called memory constraints a crisis and said “all options should be on the table.” He had become CEO on September 1. 1
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That matters because Apple was already facing scrutiny over reported talks with Chinese memory makers ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC). Ternus’s comments keep those suppliers from being ruled out in public—but do not confirm a deal, a shipment, or a final decision. 2
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Why Apple wants to preserve its options
The immediate pressure is supply. Reports describe a global memory shortage and connect it to rising demand from AI-related uses; Apple has also faced higher memory costs. 3
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51 For a company dependent on memory components in its products, considering another potential supplier is one way to explore supply flexibility. That is a reasonable reading of Ternus’s comments, not proof that Chinese chips are ready to fill a particular gap.
Before Ternus took over, Apple was reportedly discussing memory purchases from CXMT and YMTC for devices intended for the Chinese market. Separate reporting said Apple had begun testing CXMT DRAM. Testing a component is not the same as approving it for products or placing an order. 30
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Tim Cook was CEO during the earlier sourcing discussions, and reports described him and other Apple executives as appealing to Trump administration officials over the proposal. Cook became executive chairman when Ternus took over. This puts Ternus’s remarks in the context of an existing sourcing debate—not evidence that he personally secured regulatory assurances or that Apple has changed course. 10
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The political obstacle is broader than China-only sourcing
A bipartisan group of senators led by Chuck Schumer urged Apple to commit to using no memory from CXMT or YMTC in any product sold anywhere in the world. Their request explicitly included products made and sold only in China, so a China-only sourcing plan would not meet the demand. 17
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The senators described the companies as Chinese military-linked suppliers and cited reports that Apple had tested CXMT DRAM. Those statements establish the lawmakers’ concerns and allegations; they are not, by themselves, an independent assessment of the security risks or a confirmation that Apple is using the chips. 18
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There is also a distinction between political pressure and a binding prohibition. The supplied reporting documents the senators’ demand and describes the sourcing dispute, but it does not establish that Congress enacted a worldwide ban on Apple buying from either supplier. 17
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What Ternus’s statement does—and doesn’t—tell us
Ternus did not name CXMT or YMTC in the quoted remarks. The connection to Chinese suppliers comes from the broader context: previous reports of testing and sourcing discussions, followed by his statement that Apple should keep every option open. 1
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So the clearest conclusion is limited but important: Apple has a reason to evaluate alternatives amid memory constraints, and its CEO has not publicly ruled those options out. Whether that becomes a purchase depends on factors the available reporting does not settle, including supplier approval and the political response. 2
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For now, “all options on the table” should be read as a statement of flexibility—not proof of a Chinese-sourcing decision.
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On October 15, 2026, Apple CEO John Ternus said the memory shortage was a crisis and “all options” should remain open.
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On October 15, 2026, Apple CEO John Ternus said the memory shortage was a crisis and “all options” should remain open. Apple had reportedly tested CXMT memory and discussed sourcing from CXMT and YMTC, while bipartisan senators urged the company to reject both suppliers for products sold anywhere, including China.