Apple Effect

 

Apple’s presence as a DRAM buyer has heightened, with the mobile DRAM capacity of the iPhone 6S doubled.

According to market research firm Trendforce, Apple purchased approximately 25 percent of the global mobile DRAM output this year, whereas the ratio stood at 16.5 percent last year. This is because 2 GB mobile DRAM was incorporated into its handset for the first time ever in its history.

Still, Apple’s capacity expansion seems to be leading to no additional profitability in the semiconductor industry, as the supply glut is going on in the entire DRAM market and the price of mobile DRAM chips is continuing to fall. This year, Samsung Electronics added its name to the list of companies supplying DRAM chips to Apple, such as SK Hynix and Micron Technology, to accelerate the drop in price.

In the meantime, the mobile DRAM price is forecast to keep falling for a while, although the iPhone 6S is being chosen by an increasing number of consumers. According to market research firm IHS, the price fell by about 4 percent this month, and is expected to decline to almost the same extent in the first quarter of 2016.

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