Apple drops plan to use chips from China's Yangtze Memory Technologies: Report

Apple has shelved plans to use memory chips from China's Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC) in its products, Japanese newspaper Nikkei Asia reported citing multiple sources.

Before the US introduced its fresh export control list this month, the report said that the American multinational technology company had already completed the process to certify YMTC's 128-layer 3D NAND flash memory for use in iPhones.

According to Nikkei Asia, NAND flash memory is a key component found in all electronic devices from smartphones and personal computers to servers. These Chinese chips are by far the most advanced produced by the chipmaker.

Though YMTC chips are cheaper than those of its leading rivals, mounting geopolitical pressure and criticism from U.S. policymakers led Apple to change course, the newspaper said.

Last month, reports surfaced that US Senators had protested Apple's decision to purchase memory chips from YMTC and had ordered an investigation into the threat that the deal poses to national security.

Among those who requested the review of the controversial deal was the Democratic chair of the Senate intelligence committee Mark Warner, and the Republican vice chair Marco Rubio.

The US lawmakers wrote to the director of national intelligence, Avril Haines and called for an investigation.

YMTC has ties to the Chinese Communist party and this new deal that the chipmaker has reportedly brokered with iPhone carries "privacy and security risks" in the global digital supply chain, according to Financial Post.

The senators exhorted that the dangers of the deal to the economy and national security must be assessed. They even urged a probe into how the Chinese Communist Party uses YMTC to support its native chip industry and oust semiconductor producers from the US and its allies.

They also asked for a review of YMTC's suspected assistance in Huawei and other Chinese firms evading US sanctions.