Last year it was estimated that about a third of an iPhone is assembled using components produced by Samsung, but this year things seem to be changing. Those from Apple They've decided that Samsung no longer makes such good RAM/NAND memories, so they chose other suppliers for them. Toshiba Corp, Elpida Memory ELPDK.PK and SK Hynix are the 3 companies that supply both RAM memories and NAND storage memories for terminals iPhone 5, Samsung being removed from the list of companies from which Apple purchases such components.
Apple has reduced its orders for memory chips for its new iPhone from its main supplier and competitor Samsung Electronics, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday. Apple has been cutting back its orders from Samsung as it seeks to diversify its memory chip supply lines, although the South Korean firm remains on the list of initial suppliers for the new iPhone, the source told Reuters. The Korea Economic Daily, citing an unnamed industry source, reported on Friday that Apple had dropped Samsung from the list of memory chip suppliers for the first batch of the new iPhone, the iPhone 5, which is widely expected to be unveiled next Wednesday.
It was normal for Apple to give up some contracts with Samsung since the Koreans don't understand that it's not good to steal from your partners, and now we see the first changes that will surely affect Samsung's earnings. The three partners chosen by Apple have been used in the past, their chips being found either in iDevices or in Macs, so it will not be a problem in terms of performance, but the problem it will lie in their ability to produce enough of many components. Considering that Apple fails to reach some agreements with Samsung, we can expect other important changes to take place.
The report said Apple instead picked Japan's Toshiba Corp (6502.T), Elpida Memory ELPDK.PK and Korea's SK Hynix (000660.KS) to supply DRAM and NAND chips. "Samsung is still on the list of initial memory chip suppliers (for new iPhones). But Apple orders have been trending down and Samsung is making up for the reduced order from others, notably Samsung's handset business," the Reuters source said.
