Report: Apple Considering First Ever NAND from Chinese Firm
Image via Yangtze Memory Technologies
01 APRIL 2022 - A story from Bloomberg (via Yahoo Finance) that seems both weird and not. According to the report:
Apple Inc. is exploring new sources of the memory chips that go into iPhones, including its first Chinese producer of the critical component…
The company is said to be considering that after a batch of NAND flash from a Japanese supplier was contaminated back in February. I say the story seems both weird and not. On the weird side, given the current political climate - feels like a strange time for Apple to become more reliant on China. Then again, adding a brand new supplier would mean diversifying the supply chain, something Apple might want to do given how kinked the supply chain’s been. Staying on the weird side, isn’t it surprising to hear that, in all these flash-filled years, Apple’s never bought from China before? Making it feel not weird - stuff’s made in China.
Kind of feels like the weird might outweigh the not-weird. Then again, Apple is regularly applauded for its supply chain acumen. If this is how they keep that running, that may be fine with them. Of course, none of this may come to pass. The piece has secret people saying that Apple is currently “testing sample NAND flash memory chips made by (…) Yangtze Memory Technologies.” The Cupertino-company is said to have been considering a deal with Yangtze “for months though no final decisions have been made,” according to the report.
