Apple Urgently Procures DRAM as iPhone 18 Launch Nears

As Apple (AAPL-US) prepares for its upcoming product launch, tensions in the memory supply chain are intensifying. Renowned analyst Tim Culpan revealed on the 5th that Apple and its suppliers are urgently procuring memory chips.

With the much-anticipated foldable iPhone Ultra, along with the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18 Pro, expected to debut in under six weeks, Apple’s assembly supply chain is accelerating coordination for DRAM components.

Currently, Apple primarily sources DRAM from Micron but also purchases from SK Hynix and Samsung. However, as AI data center demand continues to consume memory resources, global DRAM supply is tightening, and Apple is now encountering supply pressures it has rarely faced before.

According to South Korean media outlet Digital Daily on the 5th, Apple attempted to negotiate lower DRAM purchase prices with Chinese manufacturer ChangXin Memory (CXMT), but was rejected. ChangXin insists on pricing no lower than Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix—and potentially even higher.

The reason lies in Chinese domestic firms such as Huawei and Xiaomi having already secured ChangXin’s production capacity through long-term contracts, meaning ChangXin has no incentive to accommodate Apple’s stringent terms.

Apple’s flagship iPhones this year are expected to feature the A20 Pro chip—the first to be mass-produced using TSMC’s N2 process.

Wafer fabrication progress for the A20 Pro is currently smooth, with favorable yield rates reported. However, supply chain sources indicate that numerous completed wafers are awaiting配套 DRAM components and cannot proceed to subsequent packaging stages. As a result, packaging capacity has become a critical bottleneck for new device mass production.

Culpan emphasized that the core issue affecting Apple’s new device production is not insufficient advanced process capacity at TSMC, but rather the strain between memory supply and advanced packaging integration.