Apple Inc. is reportedly testing memory chips from China's Chang Xin Memory Technologies (CXMT) for products like iPhones and MacBooks. This move comes as the artificial intelligence boom drives surging demand for memory chips, putting pressure on supplies available for consumer electronics.

Apple has held preliminary discussions with CXMT, China's largest memory-chip maker by market value, regarding potentially supplying components for devices sold in China. While CXMT may offer relief, the chipmaker has maxed out its capacity this year, prioritizing Chinese tech giants like ByteDance and Tencent as they expand AI businesses.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects AI infrastructure demand to widen the memory shortage through 2027, potentially shifting as much as 20% of memory capacity away from consumer electronics. This supply strain has already led Apple to raise prices on several products, including MacBook Air and iPad models.