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Apple Diversifying Memory Suppliers Too, Moving Away from Samsung [Updated]

Wednesday September 21, 2011 8:40 pm PDT by Arnold Kim

According to Digitimes, Apple is continuing to diversify its suppliers and moving away from its dependance on Samsung:
Apple has increased its purchases of DRAM and NAND flash from Japan, according to industry sources, adding that Toshiba and Elpida Memory are being pinpointed as beneficiaries of the increased procurement.
Apple and Samsung have been in increasingly escalating legal battles over patent claims concerning Apple's iOS devices and Samsung's Galaxy line These lawsuits are said to be the reason for Apple's shifting of suppliers. Apple had previously been reported to have moved from Samsung to TSMC for production of the A6 processor in 2012. Meanwhile, Samsung has even threatened to sue Apple over the iPhone 5 once it is released.

Apple had quickly become Samsung's biggest customer with contracts for over $7.8 billion in parts in 2011. Apple seems to be doing its best to shift those contracts to Samsung's competitors over the next year.

Update: Reuters reports that Samsung has announced a $10 billion investment in a new flash memory production line, hoping to increase its share of the market and lower its own costs. Samsung will take approximately nine months to get the new line fully up and running.

[ 246 comments ]


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DTphonehome
97 months ago
That's what you get for biting the hand that fed you, Sammy.
Rating: 41 Votes
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aleni
97 months ago

Why doesn't Apple just make a factory, and make it? Not like they are poor or anything....


i live in asia and sell tshirts for a living, tshirts i mean about 30.000 pcs every month.

i can build my own factory and have 200 asian workers if i want to, but i prefer to design the tshirts in my company and give the designs to the factory that managed by other people so i don't have to deal with the workers.

it's a pain in the ass to deal with the workers and it will give me stress.

so i better let other company handle the production, give them a profit too and that means less profit for me but the stress life is non existence.
Rating: 27 Votes
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ArtOfWarfare
97 months ago

Until Windows 8 takes the tablet market by storm.


Personally, I think the Windows 8 tablets will only take away from Android tablet sales.
Rating: 21 Votes
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Daws001
97 months ago

Until Windows 8 takes the tablet market by storm.


Save that for when it happens. The same was said about Android, RIM, and webOS. Those cheerleaders have quieted down as of late.
Rating: 21 Votes
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nagromme
97 months ago

Or, more likely, that Apple screws itself by divorcing itself from one of the largest and most innovative suppliers.


I just hope Samsung becomes MORE innovative, bringing consumers NEW designs (like Motorola and Microsoft have lately done) and copying less from Apple. They’re not copying Apple’s designs because they have to, and not because that somehow means more “choice.” They’re doing it because it’s more cost-effective to copy than to innovate, so they innovate less and copy more. As a consumer, I surely don’t benefit from that. So I hope Apple succeeds in shifting Samsung to a more innovative approach, whether through buyer pressure, defending patents on things Apple actually did invent, or just making it not worth the bother to copy them any further.

Good thing Apple fans aren't waiting for the iPhone 5.


It will be interesting to measure the time between the next iPhone’s very first announcement and users having it in their hands, vs. the time between Microsoft’s very first Windows 8 announcement and users having that in their hands :D Windows 8 was announced before the next iPhone. Will it ship before the next iPhone, or after?

But none of those can hold a candle to Windows in the marketplace.


They can all hold a candle to Windows 8, since they’re out there now, whereas Windows 8 won’t ship for ages—like a year or longer). And Windows has been “in the marketplace” on tablets for years upon years, yet still lags far behind iOS after Apple re-invented the tablet.
Rating: 18 Votes
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*LTD*
97 months ago

Until Windows 8 takes the tablet market by storm.


We're all waiting, I'm sure. After all, when it comes to MS, that's all consumers do: wait.
Rating: 17 Votes
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AppleScruff1
97 months ago

We're all waiting, I'm sure. After all, when it comes to MS, that's all consumers do: wait.


Good thing Apple fans aren't waiting for the iPhone 5.
Rating: 15 Votes
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iEric
97 months ago
Why doesn't Apple just make a factory, and make it? Not like they are poor or anything....
Rating: 13 Votes
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crazy dave
97 months ago

Why doesn't Apple just make a factory, and make it? Not like they are poor or anything....


Apple used to, but eventually decided that it would be better in the long run for Apple to outsource the production of its parts to other companies. I believe in fact it was Tim Cook who changed that when he joined the company and now Apple's supply chain/inventory management is apparently the envy of their competitors ... so that decision seems to have worked out well. That's not to say it can't have drawbacks, but overall it seems to have been the right move for Apple business-wise.
Rating: 13 Votes
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AppleScruff1
97 months ago

Like it's been said before: suppliers need Apple. In turn, Apple has their pick of the litter.

Suppliers will adjust, expand capacity, and make the necessary modifications to accommodate big-name customers like Apple who are buttressed by insane consumer demand. Apple is a platinum-tier client.

Given Samsung's lousy numbers last quarter, they need all the business they can get. But Apple has to diversify suppliers due to increased demand anyway.


Apple needs suppliers. It's a two way street.
Rating: 11 Votes

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