“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,” Josephine Lien and Jessie Shen report for DigiTimes.
“Apple has moved to reduce its reliance on memory supplies from Samsung Electronics, the sources claimed,” Lien and Shen report. “The vendor has procured more NAND flash parts from Toshiba, and mobile RAM from Elpida, the sources indicated.”
Lien and Shen report, “The ongoing patent lawsuits between Apple and Samsung have been key to encouraging Apple to diversify its supplier base, the sources pointed out.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Just as was done with Eric T. Mole, cut Samsung out like the cancer it is.
Boycott everything Samsung; vote with your wallets.
+1
We bought a Samsung washer and dryer set a few years ago, and they’ve been good products, but we’re going to boycott Samsung until they grow up and do business in a responsible manner.
I think that freezing Samsung out of the supplier chain will be a much more effective sanction than taking them to court and it will be totally under Apple’s control. However Apple still needs to take them to court in order to protect it’s IP from others.
Dumping them as a supplier will also serve as a warning to other suppliers who might consider biting the hand that feeds them.
A second thought about cutting off Samsung: If Apple doesn’t use their chips, who will? This may be an opportunity for Android builders to secure a large supply of memory for a plethora of Apple competitors.
Well yes and no…. Yes it will, but Apple was very good partner to it’s suppliers, guaranteeing purchases (@ pre agreed pricing) months (even years) in advance, sometimes even co-investing in production facilities.
Most apple knock off manufacturers buy on the spot market as cheep as they can and are fickle (wonder what will happen to the companies that were supplying HP & others (RIM, ect) who were going to sell “millions” of iPad knockoff’s with their flashRAM? -They have it sitting in warehouses and will have to dump it into the spot market and take their chances)
Samsung will no doubt sell their RAM but…. (and it’s a big but) they don’t know how quickly or at what price. That makes a huge difference in profit and it is extremely unwise to make large capitol investment in manufacturing infrastructure (in a down economy)
So yes, this will hurt them significantly.
And that is a *lot* of capacity at Samsung that would have to be absorbed by the rest of the market. Talk about negative pricing pressure…
Samsung is also a “Android builder” so do the Android competitors continue to go elsewhere for their RAM too?
Freezing Samsung out?
If you asked Steve (you know, the Chairman of the Board) he would tell you that Samsung was still a valued partner to Apple while reducing (but not eliminating) their reliance on them.
Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.
—Sun-tzu. Chinese general & military strategist (~400 BC).
I certainly will make sure I never purchase another Samsung product. MDN should seriously organize a boycott of Samsung products by the generally more affluent Apple product owners. Even a few thousand Apple users signing an online petition to be sent to Samsung Corporate, would represent a much larger base of similar minded people with no intention of buying anything Samsung. While it is impossible to boycott Samsung’s insidious presence inside of other companies devices (including Apple) the message sent to all Apple Fans (after all we do have a reputation for being fiercely loyal “fanbois.”) and then to Samsung would send a chill down the reactive bastards’ spines. How about MDN, make your next poll a vote on how many of us would boycott all Samsung consumer products and set up an on-line petition to go to Samsung. I bet that the current 3000 people polled about how much Apple stock they own, would be glad to sign-on and a lot more of those would follow, especially if you made this an open on-line petition.
Fuck the petition! Just stop buying Samsung products. Start with the obvious, branded, products then do your research and stop buying any that include their components.
Problem solved…and for a copy-cat nation, hopefully, a lesson learned.
These “sources” did not tell that orders to Samsung’s were not growing (declining), so this is typical tabloid attitude by DigiTimes.
Both Toshiba and Elpida always got regular multi-billion dollar orders for flash and RAM (Samsung was never exclusive or even a majority supplier), and Apple’s orders always grew significantly this year.
Apple would never decline diversification; if Samsung’s prices are better than of others, Apple would not decline. They are highly pragmatical company both under Jobs, and no less under Cook.
That said, some changes is proportions of supply, though not drastic, are possible indeed. However, this can not be derived from this article.
Correction: “… Apple’s orders always grew significantly each year during the last eight years or so. …”
Fascinating strategy. Even if Apple merely turns to others to satisfy its growth, Apple is fostering Samsung’s competitors.
Samsung’s CEO might want to fall on the sword quickly — before the damage is irreparable.
Stepping on your customer’s toes, especially your biggest customer, is not only bad form, i’s stupid.
Put the fear of God in all the vendors. Apple should build their own DRAM and NAND flash chips. It will keep the rest of the glass, battery, wire, plastic, … vendors in line. It is Apple’s terms or Apple may want to take over your market next!
And be forced to license (or infringe) on the memory-maker’s patents??
How prophetic; not an hour after I post this, MDN links to news saying a chip-maker is suing Apple over some patents on processors.
No point; all major vendors of components dream to have Apple as customer and ready to give away their goods with almost no margin — since the vendors get ability to maintain their huge manufacturing facilities and investments thanks to Apple, and even sell additional components to other customers for higher prices than to Apple.
It is ideal solution for Apple: always having the best prices, pushing competitors over, and keeping itself a high margin (36-43%) company.
If Apple would own manufacturing facilities, then the company would have to also “own” hundreds of thousands of people of workers, killing the high-margin concept of its business. Price of Apple shares would fall immediately.
Personally I really don’t care either way. This is Apple Legal’s fight not mine as an Apple customer. So if Samsung make a great product and I’m in the market for a product of that type I’ll still consider purchasing.
Wow, just wow. Intellectual property theft is as real as physical theft. As someone who makes their living thinking up ideas that are protected only by copyright, I am constantly amazed by the lack of respect some have for others hard work.
I get into this all the time with my interns, many times I find rampant (personal) pirating and I sit them down and tell them, “you are attempting to get into an industry (motion picture) where copyright is paramount to us actually getting paid and you are stealing copyrighted material. Have you ever given even a scintilla of thought about that?”
So, all I can tell you, Dave, is that you need to put some real thought in to how intellectual property rights enable people to think up creative new and better things. And without those rights (and a respect for them) the reward for creating will cease.
Wind your neck in Tes, all I’m saying is that Apple Legal is perfectly capable of fighting its own battles. I’m certainly not going to start boycotting Samsung products because they’re doing something to Apple. Let’s face it, to Apple we’re just customers. We have no duty to sit at the side of the pitch cheering them on.
BTW, I also work in the movie and TV industry so agree with you about copyright theft. The difference there though is that is something people have actually created, rather than obtaining paperwork on some abstract derivative of a previous idea as with the vast majority of tech patents these days.
Finally an Apple fan who speaks good sense! I love Apple products but we are just customers to one of the wealthiest companies in the world.
Oh puh-lease, if you get vague enough almost all creative work is derivative (certainly true in film/TV production).
I don’t know what to tell you Dave, it comes down to personal responsibility; Would (should) you buy stolen goods out of the back of a truck? After all, you had nothing to do with the theft, and no doubt the company they stole them from is likely “wealthy” and has them insured.
The answer is, you can’t (if you are an honest soul) because you are enabling thieves.
Samsung are, quite obviously, thieves. You can’t (in good conscience) enable thieves, plain and simple.
And you don’t get the point, Do you.
A. How may people in the world are able to purchase Samsung products?
B. How may people in the world are able to purchase Apple products?
C. How many people who would likely purchase a Samsung product would also likely purchase an Apple product?
D. How many people who would likely purchase an Apple product would never, ever purchase a Samsung product or any device containing a Samsung component?
E. Who is so dedicated to the cause of moral superiority is also willing to replace all internal components in all their Apple devices with non-Samsung components?
Samsung is Apple’s biggest RAM supplier, so they decided to alienate them, violate their patents, and give them a reason to cut them off.
They had a good thing, and they’re messing it up.
Apparently, it doesn’t take a genius to run a multi-billion dollar company these days.
“Apparently, it doesn’t take a genius to run a multi-billion dollar company these days.”
Ya think? Witness our ongoing economic depression. It was a bunch of ‘too big to fail’ blowhard companies who made the most damage.
Oh dear Samsung! You shoot yourself in the HEAD! Now you are soooo screwed! And it’s your own fault.
This is actually great as it is clearly going to engender further competition in the e- parts market. I like it. Thank you Apple! Screw you Samsung!