Apple Tests CXMT Memory Chips, Baidu and Qwen Join Its China AI Supply Chain

Apple is testing memory chips from Chinese DRAM manufacturer ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) for use in iPhones and MacBooks, as reported by Reuters citing the Wall Street Journal. This move is driven by the AI-driven memory shortage, as AI companies' demand for high-bandwidth memory and server DRAM has squeezed supply for traditional consumer memory. CXMT has gained about 7% of global DRAM revenue in the second quarter and is expanding production lines in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hefei. In parallel, Apple is accelerating the localization of Apple Intelligence in China. Alibaba's Qwen has been confirmed to enter Apple's AI system, and Baidu is reportedly involved in developing AI search features for Chinese iPhone users. Earlier reports indicated that Apple is working with Baidu on an AI-based search function, which will be part of the Apple Intelligence suite, handling images and text for the upgraded Siri in China. Apple's support documents mention that users in mainland China can connect Siri and writing tools to Alibaba's Qwen service. This integration aims to provide text understanding, image understanding, and content generation across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS. Thus, Apple is building a China-specific AI ecosystem with Qwen providing core capabilities and Baidu handling search and visual search, all integrated into Siri and other Apple Intelligence features.