FT: Apple is asking Washington for permission to buy DRAM from CXMT, a blacklisted Chinese supplier, because AI server demand has made ordinary device memory painfully expensive. DRAM is the short-term working memory inside iPhones, Macs, and iPads, while HBM is a stacked, faster version used in AI accelerators, so the AI buildout is pulling factory capacity toward servers and away from consumer gadgets. Apple’s problem is supplier pressure, because it mainly depends on Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix, while CXMT could add cheaper supply from China’s state-backed memory push. But CXMT sits on the Pentagon’s Chinese Military Company list, which does not block Apple purchases by itself but signals national-security concern and could become far more serious if Commerce adds CXMT to the Entity List. Apple’s $263B market-value loss was triggered by the memory-cost pressure that forced MacBook and iPad price hikes, showing how AI infrastructure demand is now raising the cost base of everyday consumer devices.