Samsung will change RAM suppliers for iPhones, as it is under pressure from the US government.
According to AppleInsider , Apple planned to buy 128-layer NAND RAM chips from Yangtse Memory Technologies Co (YMTC – China ) to use for iPhones. These chips are said to be a generation or two behind the chips made by Micron and Samsung, but 20% cheaper.
But in October, Apple reportedly halted its plan to buy back chips from YMTC. Essentially, while Apple isn’t banned from buying chips from YMTC due to the latest government regulations that focus on exports rather than imports, a new report from Digitimes says Apple has “quietly suspended”. plans to switch to buying RAM chips from Samsung.
Earlier, the administration of President Joe Biden enacted a new export ban with the aim of boosting US chip production while avoiding potential security problems. The US government added YMTC to its “Unverified List” in October 2022, meaning there are restrictions on how US companies can work with them.
The report says that Samsung’s NAND chip will be used in iPhones destined for the Chinese market in 2023. In addition to the iPhone 15 series , Apple may also apply this to the iPhone 14 series.
This is not the first time Samsung has supplied components for the iPhone. electronics The South Korean company has been making headphone processors for iPhones and iPads, RAM for many Apple devices over the past 20 years, and screens for the iPhone 14 Pro.
