The US and South Korea lift the ban on chip exports; Apple 17 Pro suffers from speaker hissing......
Global Semiconductor Industry Dynamics: Policy Shifts, Market Polarization and Manufacturing Challenges
I. US-SK Chip Export Restriction Easing: Cracks in the Tech Iron Curtain
As exclusively reported by Reuters on December 30, the U.S. Department of Commerce has granted temporary licenses to Samsung and SK Hynix, authorizing them to ship chipmaking equipment to their Chinese facilities through 2026. The move marks a partial recalibration of Washington’s Validated End-User (VEU) regime, which previously allowed Samsung’s Xi’an fab, SK Hynix’s Wuxi plant, and other Chinese-based wafer fabs to access U.S.-sourced equipment without individual approvals. Critically, the exemption excludes cutting-edge Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tools and carries a two-year validity period—underscoring the U.S.’s fraught balancing act between curbing China’s semiconductor advancement and protecting ally interests. Industry analysts note the policy is likely intended to ease global memory chip overcapacity and prevent South Korean firms from facing existential risks amid disrupted access to the Chinese market.
II. CXMT’s IPO Kickoff: Domestic DRAM’s Breakthrough Campaign
ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), a leader in China’s domestic memory chip sector, saw its Sci-Tech Innovation Board IPO application formally accepted on December 30. The company aims to raise RMB 29.5 billion to secure its position as “China’s first listed memory chip firm.” Spun off from Hefei Industry Investment Holdings, CXMT has achieved a full generational tech leap from DDR4 to DDR5, with its 4th-gen 10nm-class process boasting a yield rate above 85% and monthly output of 120,000 wafers. Per Omdia data, CXMT ranks 4th globally in DRAM with an 18% market share. Once phase II of its Hefei base comes online, it is on track to hit 300,000 wafers per month by 2026—potentially shattering the long-standing monopoly held by Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. Notably, the prospectus highlights “no reliance on a single customer,” signaling a push into high-end segments like automotive electronics and AI servers.
III. Memory Market Dichotomy: DRAM Surge Amid Consumer Electronics Slump
Taiwan’s niche memory IC designer Elite Semiconductor Memory Technology (ESMT) has emerged as a standout winner in the current cycle. In November 2025, the firm posted NT$1.401 billion in revenue, with after-tax net profit soaring 1,686% year-on-year—its single-month earnings even outpacing the total for the first three quarters. The core driver of this profit boom is structural imbalance in the global memory supply chain: to meet soaring demand for high-margin High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and DDR5 from AI servers, majors like Samsung and SK Hynix have redirected significant capacity to these premium products. This has squeezed supply of mature-process memory chips (including DDR4 and DDR3), triggering industry-wide shortages and sharp price hikes. Industry reports suggest the shortage from such “capacity crowding-out” could persist through 2027.
Concurrently, consumer-grade SSD prices have fallen 15%—a reflection of sluggish end-market demand. The industry faces a stark split: AI server-driven HBM demand has forced Samsung to delay DDR4 production line closures, while the smartphone and PC markets remain trapped in inventory gluts. As an executive at a top memory firm put it: “We’re in a structural bull market, but the pain and gain vary drastically across players.”
Against this backdrop, ESMT—whose portfolio centers on DDR3—stands to benefit not only from spillover effects of price increases but also from projected further price upside in 2026, which is expected to sustain its growth trajectory.
IV. iPhone 17 Pro Rattle Issue: The Achilles’ Heel of Precision Manufacturing
Some users of Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro/Max have reported a rattle, describing it as “static noise akin to an old radio.” The hissing sound from the speakers during charging, though seemingly minor, has exposed deep-seated supply chain management challenges for Apple. Teardowns indicate the issue may stem from electromagnetic interference from the MagSafe charging module interacting with resonance in the stereo speakers. Notably, a similar problem plagued the iPhone 14 Pro series, which Apple mitigated via an iOS update adjusting power management algorithms. However, the latest rattle is hardware-related, with repair costs potentially reaching $349. Bloomberg reports Apple has urgently deployed engineers to Foxconn’s Zhengzhou facility to inspect production lines, aiming to resolve the brand-damaging flaw ahead of the Lunar New Year.
The global semiconductor industry is in a historic transition: the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act drives manufacturing reshoring, the EU has launched a €43 billion chip initiative, and China’s 14th Five-Year Plan prioritizes integrated circuits as a core R&D focus. In this silent war, CXMT’s breakthrough demonstrates that only by mastering core technologies can entities secure a voice in the reshaping of the global supply chain. As memory chip price cycles align with technological iteration, 2026 may mark the true coming-of-age of China’s semiconductor sector.
