According to AppleInsider, Jobs' Mob has bowed to US government pressure and abandoned its use of YMTC flash memory and 128-layer 3D NAND chips.

Apple loves the YMTC because it makes gear that is 20 per cent cheaper than rivals, and once they are sealed in a rose case, no one can see that they are there without voiding the warranty. What is amusing about the news is that many in the Tame Apple Press were shocked that Apple was thinking of using YMTC products. While they are the most advanced made by a Chinese company, they are two generations behind the chips made by Micron and Samsung, who also work with Apple. Apple was hoping to palm off out-of-date tech while claiming its iPhones were cutting edge and insisting users pay a premium.

Apple had gone through a long testing period on the YMTC products but gave up when someone from the US government spoke to them about the idea.

"The products have been verified, but they did not go into the production lines when mass production of the new iPhone began," an anonymous source told Nikkei Asia.

The intention may have been to use YMTC chips only for iPhones sold in China and were probably bought for the label without knowing the difference.

However, the dark satanic rumour mill suggests that Apple was considering buying more than 40 per cent of all its worldwide iPhone NAND flash memory from the company, which was government subsidised.