HIGHLIGHTS
- Apple is now putting prototype NAND flash memory chips through their paces.
- Foxconn was forced to halt operations in Shenzhen.
- Kioxia Holding reported contamination.
After a key Japanese partner experienced an output disruption, Apple is looking for new suppliers for memory chips used in iPhones, including a potential first Chinese supplier, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing sources.
Kioxia Holdings, a key supplier of flash memory chips to Apple, disclosed contamination at two of its manufacturing plants last month, which the firm claimed will result in reduced output.
According to the article, Apple is now evaluating prototype NAND flash memory chips from Chinese semiconductor manufacturer Yangtze Memory Technologies, and the iPhone maker has been considering the collaboration for months.
Yangtze declined to comment, and Apple did not reply to Reuters' demands for comment on the allegation immediately.
Another important Apple supplier, Foxconn, had to cease its Shenzhen operations earlier this month owing to an increase of COVID-19 cases. Foxconn began partial manufacturing at its Shenzhen campuses late last month after arranging for certain employees to live and work in a bubble, an arrangement required by the local government as it tackles the spread of COVID-19.
According to reports, just a tiny portion of Foxconn's iPhone manufacture in China takes place in the southern city of Shenzhen, with the rest taking place in Zhengzhou in the centre province of Henan.
