Apple assisted YMTC in hiring engineers from established Western companies in order to improve its yields and productivity, according to the NYT report that cites three people familiar with the matter.So far, neither Apple nor YMTC have confirmed or denied the information, though the California-based consumer electronics giant is known for helping its manufacturing partners to build their operations.For Apple, which uses 3D NAND across the vast majority of its products, it's important to diversify its supply as it helps to get better prices from each manufacturer.Meanwhile, now that the U.S. administration has imposed severe sanctions against Chinse semiconductor and supercomputer industries, it looks like Apple no longer plans to use YMTC's 3D NAND even for its products bound to be sold in China.YMTC became widely known by the general public after it was included in the U.S. Department of Commerce's Unverified List in early October."