Apple now world’s largest semiconductor buyer
Following the enormous success of its iPhone and iPad products, Apple has overtaken Hewlett-Packard and Samsung to become the world's largest consumer of semiconductors among oems.
According to IHS iSuppli, the electronics giant bought $17.5billion worth of semiconductors in 2010, a 79.6% increase from $9.7bn in 2009. This represented the highest rate of increase among the world's top 10 oem semiconductor buyers and allowed it to rise up two positions to take the number one rank.
"Apple's surge to leadership in semiconductor spending in 2010 was driven by the overwhelming success of its wireless products, namely the iPhone and the iPad," said IHS analyst Wenlie Ye. "These products consume enormous quantities of NAND Flash memory. Because of this, Apple in 2010 was the world's number one purchaser of NAND flash."
Ye believes Apple is likely to continue increasing its semiconductor spending during the coming years at an above average pace, allowing it to extend its lead over the likes of Hewlett-Packard and Samsung.
