If a new supply chain report out of Asia Friday is to be trusted, Apple's arch-rival Samsung is supplying it with RAM chips for the upcoming iPhone 6 refresh. This comes as somewhat of a surprise given Apple's been fighting tooth and nail to supplant the South Korean conglomerate with alternative component suppliers amid intensifying competition, aggressive advertising and never-ending legal issues plaguing its relationship with Samsung.
Micron Technology on Thursday informed investors it has completed its $2 billion acquisition of Elpida Memory, the third-largest maker of dynamic random access memory chips (DRAM) and an important Apple supplier. The rumored move was expected given Elpida's been struggling for some time amid heightening competition with SK Hynix and Samsung.
The struggling Japanese chip maker last summer filed for bankruptcy and has since been in talks to sell its business to U.S.-based Micron Technology Corp. Apple placed a huge order with Elpida ahead of the iPhone 5 production, indicating desire to maintain its bargaining power by keeping the memory maker running.
Elpida's memory products power Apple's latest iPhones and iPads and are also found inside Google's Nexus 7 and other non-Apple gadgets...
Samsung has allegedly launched its latest 20-nanometer mobile memory chips ahead of schedule, acting on market concerns that a rumored Apple-Elpida partnership could hurt their business. New 4Gb mobile DRAMs are currently shipping to customers, the global conglomerate said, confirming it's been supplying memory chips for Apple's iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
It's business as usual, execs for South Korea-based Samsung claim, adding the company is not losing its edge as Apple’s top-tier client. Still, Cupertino could soon buy fewer chips from Samsung as it's been moving aggressively to diversify its part-sourcing channels...
Samsung has lost a whopping ten billion dollars of market value on rumors of order stoppage concerning DRAM chips. The iPhone maker has reportedly secured half the manufacturing output from Elpida, a struggling Japanese maker of dynamic random access memory chips.
Apple is Samsung's biggest client and Cupertino's business contributes substantially to their fortunes so no wonder Samsung’s shares fell yesterday more than six percent to a nine-week low, effectively wiping out a cool $10 billion of the company's market capitalization...