DRAM Market Consolidation=> 32% Growth, All Time High Revenue

6+ DRAM vendors in 2001

Worldwide semiconductor revenue grew 7.9% in 2014, led by DRAM 32% increases;

"memory market was the best performer for the second year in a row, growing 16.6 percent, meaning the rest of the market only achieved 4.9 percent growth," said Andrew Norwood, research vice president at Gartner. "As a group, DRAM vendors performed best, lifted by the booming DRAM market, which saw revenue increase 32 percent to $46.1 billion, surpassing the all-time high of $41.8 billion set in 1995." (more in the article below).  

The consolidation in the number of memory manufacturers from 20+ in the early 90s to 3 vendors help to firm DRAM memory chip price. Due to the limited number of vendors and the high cost of new fabs will keep the floor under DRAM chip costs in the future.

More about fab consolidation in my blog from March 2012 – Moore's Law End? (Next semiconductors gen. cost $10 billion)

DRAM vendors market shares are at S. Korea's share in DRAM market hits all-time high in 2014

Ron
Insightful, timely, and accurate semiconductor consulting.

Semiconductor information and news at - http://www.maltiel-consulting.com/

Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue Grew 7.9 Percent in 2014, According to Final Results by Gartner

Booming DRAM Market Sees Revenue Increase 32 Percent During 2014

Worldwide semiconductor revenue totaled $340.3 billion in 2014, a 7.9 percent increase from 2013 revenue of $315.4 billion, according to final results by Gartner, Inc. The top 25 semiconductor vendors' combined revenue increased 11.7 percent, which was more than the overall industry's growth. The top 25 vendors accounted for 72.4 percent of total market revenue, up from 69.9 percent in 2013.

"2014 saw all device categories post positive growth, unlike in 2013, when application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), discretes and microcomponents all declined. The memory market was the best performer for the second year in a row, growing 16.6 percent, meaning the rest of the market only achieved 4.9 percent growth," said Andrew Norwood, research vice president at Gartner. "As a group, DRAM vendors performed best, lifted by the booming DRAM market, which saw revenue increase 32 percent to $46.1 billion, surpassing the all-time high of $41.8 billion set in 1995."

Intel saw a return to growth after two years of revenue decline, as PC production recovered, with sales up 7.7 percent (see Table 1). The company retained the No. 1 market share position for the 23rd consecutive year by capturing 15.4 percent of the market, which was down slightly on the previous year.

2014 saw significantly more merger and acquisition (M&A) activity among the major semiconductor vendors than the previous year, with some announced deals still to close in 2015. Among the most significant deals was Avago Technologies' acquisition of LSI, propelling the company into the top 25 semiconductor vendors for the first time. MStar Semiconductor was merged with MediaTek after a prolonged merger, and ON Semiconductor acquired Aptina Imaging. After adjusting for closed M&A activity, the top 25 semiconductor vendors grew at 9.1 percent.Source: Gartner (March 2015)

Additional information is provided in the Gartner report "Market Share Analysis: Semiconductors, Worldwide, 2014."

iPhone 6+ Secret Sauce

Apple’s customers upgrade cycle to iPhone 6 plus will help many semiconductor companies. The key suppliers are in the article below -

"the biggest winders are Avago, SkyWorks and NXP, who have seen component content for the iPhone 6 increase by 30 to 90 percent compared to the iPhone 5S. Qualcomm also gains more carrier aggregation, and the NAND boost to 128GB "

The 64 bit A8 processor is the secret sauce giving the iPhone its battery and operation performance.

Ron
Insightful, timely, and accurate semiconductor consulting.
Semiconductor information and news at - http://www.maltiel-consulting.com/

What's inside the iPhone 6 Plus?

Summary: A teardown of the new iPhone 6 Plus reveals hidden innovations that Apple didn’t tell us about.

By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes for Hardware 2.0 | September 19, 2014 -- 12:37 GMT (05:37 PDT)

(Image: iFixit)

Today's the day that the iPhone 6 finally falls into the sweaty paws of the masses. And one of the first iPhone 6 Pluses off the production line has fallen into the hands of the iFixit team and is immortalized in their latest teardown.

Here is a listing of the chips that have so far been identified:Inside the iPhone 6 Plus are an array of chips from a number of vendors including Qualcomm, Broadcom, NXP, Texas Instruments, and Avago. And taking pride of place in the middle of all that is Apple's own A8 processor, and that's teamed with 1GB of Elpida LPDDR3 RAM.

• Apple A8 APL1011 SoC + Elpida 1 GB LPDDR3 RAM (as denoted by the markings EDF8164A3PM-GD-F)
• NXP LPC18B1UK ARM Cortex-M3 Microcontrollers (which is the proper name for the M8 motion coprocessor)
• Qualcomm MDM9625M LTE Modem
• Skyworks 77802-23 Low Band LTE PAD
• Avago A8020 High Band PAD
• Avago A8010 Ultra High Band PA + FBARs
• TriQuint TQF6410 3G EDGE power amplifier module
• InvenSense MP67B 6-axis gyroscope and accelerometer combo
• Qualcomm QFE1000 Envelope Tracking IC
• RF Micro Devices RF5159 Antenna Switch Module
• SkyWorks 77356-8 Mid Band PAD
• SK Hynix H2JTDG8UD1BMS 128 Gb (16 GB) NAND Flash
• Murata 339S0228 Wi-Fi Module
• Apple/Dialog 338S1251-AZ Power Management IC
• Broadcom BCM5976 Touchscreen Controller
• NXP 65V10 NFC module (likely contains an NXP PN544 NFC controller inside)
• Qualcomm WTR1625L RF Transceiver
• Qualcomm WFR1620 receive-only companion chip
• Qualcomm PM8019 power management IC
• Texas Instruments 343S0694 touch transmitter
• AMS AS3923 boosted NFC tag front end
• Cirrus Logic 338S1201 audio codec

According to Sterne Agee analysts Vijay Rakesh and Troy Cowdrey the biggest winders are Avago, SkyWorks and NXP, who have seen component content for the iPhone 6 increase by 30 to 90 percent compared to the iPhone 5S. Qualcomm also gains more carrier aggregation, and the NAND boost to 128GB is also good for memory suppliers Micron and Sandisk.

The battery is a monster 43 gram unit and is rated at 3.82 V and 11.1 Wh of energy, for a total of 2915 mAh, which is nearly double the capacity of the battery found inside the iPhone 5S, and slightly bigger than the battery inside the Galaxy S5. The new battery gives the iPhone 6 Plus up to 24 hours on 3G, and 384 hours of standby time, which is a huge increase over both the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 6.

(Image: iFixit)

There are also many more internal improvements that apple has made to the iPhone 6 Plus. The new iSight camera features phase-detection autofocus – common on DSLRs but relatively new to smartphones – and optical stabilization.

However, when it comes to the protruding "camera nubbin," even iFixit are worried about the impact and impact might have on it (pun fully intended).

"The lens cover may be made out of sapphire glass, but we're still concerned about what this design choice might mean for durability," iFixit writes in their teardown piece.

(Image: iFixit)

Also new is the vibrator assembly that replaces the old style "motor with an off-set weight" with an electromagnet that vibrates a weight. It's a pretty cool and novel approach to vibrations. I suspect the new design is not only more robust, but allows for a greater range of vibrations.

The power and volume buttons on the new iPhone now feature a rubber gasket that should help with keeping dirt, dust and moisture from making its way inside the handset.

iFixit awarded the iPhone 6 Plus a repairability score of 7 out of 10 (where 10 is the easiest to repair). Praised was the ease of access and how simple screen and battery replacements, and the fact that the fingerprint sensor cable has been rerouted and lengthened (the previous design made tearing the cable easy when opening the handset). However, they criticized the use of proprietary Pentalobe screws and the fact that Apple doesn't share repair information with third-parties.

Apple A7 Foundry:TSMC, Samsung, Intel?

Reuters last week suggested that Apple and Intel have at the very least discussed the option of introducing its chips in to the iDevice range. It would make sense for Apple to diversify its fab manufacturing.

More is discussed in the report below (the updae). However it could be also just rumor to impact the real negotiations between Apple and its vendors.

More about it in an October Next iPhone A7 Made by TSMC not Samsung .

Update - There is an interesting discussion on Linkedin about Intel as Altera foundry

Ron
Insightful, timely, and accurate semiconductor consulting.
Semiconductor information and news at - www.maltiel-consulting.com

"Is Intel ready for foundry?

Started by Ron Jones

The announcement this week that Intel would start providing foundry services to Altera moves them from a toe-in-the-water foundry provider to a player. On the surface, the question of whether Intel is ready for foundry might seem a bit silly.
Intel has leading edge technology, a massive manufacturing engine and world class controls on yield and cycletime. They have a highly integrated environment where design, product and process engineers have access to fab data, planners have availability of WIP information and sales orders, etc. This works great for them as an IDM.

Being a foundry is not just about building wafers for your customers, however. There is a broad spectrum of customer facing data and information that fabless or fab-lite customers require from their foundry on a regular and near real time basis. This includes:

• WIP reports (both in snapshot and lot-move format)
• Yield loss information both in process and at probe
• PCM data
• WAT data
• Lot start, WIP status, lot hold, ship alert, . . . information
• E-commerce information
The foundries have spent well over 15 years developing and refining a broad range of customer facing systems that provide this to their customers, both large and small. The information flows from WIP management and multiple other systems into data warehouses that are partitioned to keep customer data protected. It is a massive undertaking and one that continues to be refined today...."

and a reply by Andy Turudic ...

"Altera is ONE customer, a customer that is very savvy at doing pretty much every part of wafer manufacturing THEMSELVES, except the dipping silicon in beakers, and making almost all the transistors work, part. And Altera has IP to where ALMOST all the devices working is perfectly acceptable and yields passing devices at the billion+ transistor count level.


Altera's move to Intel is merely ONE customer and that does not make Intel a "player", but a shrewd business strategist that is moving to fill its fabs with large volume, BIG die, devices that pay a premium for high yield without compromising gross margin for either partner, and by taking on process-savvy customers vs every Joe Startup that comes along and needs caressing, handholding, WIP and process monitors, and a bureaucracy of "standard" support because they are not worth the time of the foundry in providing direct support. With Altera, Intel can remain an "IDM", no differently than it has two process flows in its captive fabs today. Both companies have honorable business dealings, so there's no fear of IP theft as there could be in an offshored scenario.

Intel is a world class fab, arguably at or very near the top of choices, that is capable of yield in the billion+ transistor class. Those are few and far between, as is demonstrated by Altera's competitor who appear that they cannot yield big die and instead are looking at 3D stacking smaller ones.... "



Rumor: Intel could land 10% of Apple's 'A7' chip orders http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/03/12/rumor-intel-could-land-10-of-apples-a7-chip-orders
By Sam Oliver , Tuesday, March 12, 2013, 08:27 am

As Intel gets into the chip contracting business, the company could obtain as much as 10 percent of Apple's next-generation mobile chip orders, insiders believe.

"Institutional investors" cited by DigiTimes on Tuesday believe Intel could be making a play to get a slice of Apple's business for its so-called "A7" chip, expected to power the company's next-generation iPhone. Apple has reportedly been looking to move its chip production contracts away from rival Samsung, which currently handles all of the company's current A-series chips.

The company expected to take the bulk of the work away from Samsung is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. Rumors have claimed for years that TSMC is on the brink of building chips for Apple, but that has yet to happen.


Tuesday's report claimed that both TSMC and Samsung are competing for contracts to build "A7" chips for Apple. It said that production of A-series chips through TSMC is expected to begin in 2014.
Now, institutional investors reportedly believe that Samsung will receive about half of Apple's "A7" orders, while TSMC will take 40 percent, and Intel will grab the remaining 10 percent.

"In the past, Apple's processor orders were unattractive because of low profit margins and Samsung was the only cooperating firm," the report said. "In addition, at the time Samsung's smartphones were no threat to Apple's iPhone. But Samsung has since become the biggest smartphone vendor in the world."

Just last week, a separate report suggested that Intel and Apple were in talks for Intel to potentially build next-generation chips for devices like the iPhone and iPad. Intel may be making a shift to build ARM-based systems-on-chips for companies like Apple after the PC market has struggled in recent years against smartphones and tablets.
Intel's current CEO, Paul Otellini, plans to retire in May, and some market watchers believe a new chief executive could push the company in a different direction. In particular, contracts to build custom chips for mobile device makers could help keep the chipmaker's manufacturing facilities working at full capacity.

Flash Memory Growth & Sales Surpass DRAM

See in August 2012 Flash Memory Sales Surpass DRAM  , and DRAM Market Plateau/ Flash NAND Growing

While the NOR market size is not growing as fast as NAND market it is still big enough to make the combined flash market bigger than DRAM market.

More on NOR market in a previous comments Flash NOR Memory Revival and in my May 2007 article on Long Term Trends in the NOR and NAND Markets

Ron


http://www.maltiel-consulting.com/




Flash overtakes DRAM
David Manners,   Thursday 20 December 2012 10:09

The flash memory market will grow 2% to $30bn in 2012, overtaking the $28bn DRAM market for the first time, says IC Insights.

With the exception of 2010, the DRAM and flash memory markets have been growing closer in size to each other for several years but demand for flash used in portable media devices, coupled with two years of weaker demand and price erosion for commodity DRAM used in personal computers, will finally be enough to push total flash sales beyond those for DRAM this year, says IC Insights.

Among portable media devices, smartphone shipments are projected to finish the year up 55% to 750 million units and shipments of tablet computers are forecast to rise 80% to 117 million units.

Through 2017, the flash memory market is expected to widen its lead over DRAM. In fact, IC Insights forecasts the NAND flash memory market alone will be larger than the DRAM market beginning in 2013.

Among more than 30 product segments classified by WSTS, NAND flash is forecast to have the third-highest average annual growth rate through 2017, trailing only the market growth rates for tablet processors and cellphone application processors.
NAND flash sales are forecast to increase 14% annually from 2012-2017, growing to $53bn at the end of the forecast period while the DRAM market is forecast to grow 9% annually over this same time.

Mobile DRAM Takes Over

"mobile DRAM commanded more than 26 percent of all DRAM revenue during the second quarter—a significant improvement from 19 percent the same time a year ago, and from 11 percent two years ago in 2010.
This is attributed to 2 reasons:
1. Share of mobile DRAM bit shipments is now at 17.8 percent, up from 7.9 percent in the first quarter.
2. The price of mobile DRAM has fallen less than that of its commodity cousin and its pricing is overall less vulnerable given the segments it plays in."(from Mobile DRAM Market Grows, Samsung Domination Continues)

Ron
www.maltiel-consulting.com



Mobile DRAM revenues up in 2nd Quarter

Thursday, October 18, 2012


Mobile DRAM revenues rose to the highest level yet in the second quarter of 2012 Revenues amounted to US$1.85 billion in the second quarter, up from US$1.83 billion in the first.

Two reasons account for mobile DRAM's rising market clout. First, mobile DRAM's share of total DRAM bit shipments is now at 17.8%, up from 7.9% in the first quarter.

Second, the price of mobile DRAM has fallen less than that of itsd cousin, commodity DRAM, IHS noted. While commodity DRAM historically has been subject to great swings in pricing—with the product losing as much as half of its value from the second to the fourth quarter last year alone—mobile DRAM pricing is less vulnerable, falling 10% per quarter on average.

Mobile DRAM also tends to be priced according to manufacturing cost, not based on the general balance between supply and demand. As a result, DRAM companies are able to earn a more reasonable margin for their mobile memory products—unlike in commodity DRAM, where negative margins are frequently the rule.

Samsung Electronics continued its unshakable hold at the top of the mobile DRAM market in the second quarter of 2012, with sales of US$1.1 billion, or a remarkable 61% of the global mobile DRAM market.

With the success of smartphones such as the Galaxy S3, the South Korean electronics titan also is now one of the world's largest consumers of mobile DRAM. Samsung enjoyed a 3% improvement in sales during the quarter, and its year-to-year growth was even more impressive at 35%.

SK Hynix was No. 2 behind Samsung with sales of US$362 million, down from US$366 million in the first quarter and from US$377 million the same time a year ago.

Elpida Memory snagged a 13% share based on mobile DRAM revenues of US$245 million in the second quarter of 2012, while Micron Technology saw its share amount to 4% in light of US$79 million in revenues.
By: DocMemory

Next iPhone A7 Made by TSMC not Samsung

Considering Samsung's market share in smart phones and the legal patent fights with Apple, it would make sense that Apple would want to reduce their reliance on Samsung.

The article in Korea Times (see below) discusses the change.  It take years to shift from one foundry vendor to another. Designing the A6x or A7 new processor and the details and design rules of the manufacturing process is  slow and complicated.

I already discussed Apple Cutting Out Samsung Chips?
("Teardown of iPhone 5 reveals that none of the DRAM, and NAND memory and other chips on the iPhone were not made by Samsung. Already in the iPad (See March iPad teardown) Samsung had fewer parts than in the prior Apple products. Samsung is still making the A6 processor for Apple.")


Ron

http://www.maltiel-consulting.com/



Apple gets serious about Reducing reliance on Samsung smartphone chips


By Kim Yoo-chul By Kim Yoo-chul


Samsung Electronics and Apple have been technology's oddest bedfellows: bitter foes in finished products but indispensible as friends in parts like chips and screens. Samsung Electronics and Apple have been technology's oddest bedfellows: bitter foes in finished products but indispensible as friends in parts like chips and screens.

But with Apple moving quickly to reduce its reliance on Samsung's semiconductor capability amid an intensifying intellectual property dispute between the companies in smartphones and tablets, the relationship is now about to become one-dimensional. But with Apple moving quickly to reduce its reliance on Samsung's semiconductor capability amid an intensifying intellectual property disputes between the companies in smartphones and tablets, the relationship is now about to become one-dimensional.

According to industry sources, Apple has not collaborated with Samsung in the process to develop its A6 microprocessor used in its latest iPhone 5. According to industry sources, Apple has not collaborated with Samsung in the process to develop its A6 microprocessor used in its latest iPhone 5. Samsung has handled the manufacturing of the processors used in previous iPhones and believed to have contributed in their design to some degree. Samsung has handled the manufacturing of the processors used in previous iPhones and believed to have Contributed to Their design to some degree.

Apple is still relying on the Korean firm to manufacture its chips but has made it clear it will no longer use its rival's technology, according to a senior Samsung official. Apple is still relying on the Korean firm to manufacture its chips but has made it clear it will no longer use its rival's technology, According to a senior Samsung official.

``Samsung's agreement with Apple is limited to manufacturing the A6 processors. `` Samsung's agreement with Apple is limited to the manufacturing A6 processors. Apple did all the design and we are just producing the chips on a foundry basis,'' he said on the sidelines of a technology fair at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Apple did all the design and we are just producing the chips on a foundry basis,'' he said on the sidelines of a technology fair at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

This confirms that the wedge between the technology giants has been driven deeper than it looked from the outside. This Confirms That the wedge between the technology giants has been driven deeper than it looked from the outside. Both companies have been bringing lawsuits against each other around the globe since the American firm accused its Korean competitor of copying the look and feel of its iPhones and iPads early last year when launching its own smartphones and touch-screen tablets. Both companies have been Bringing lawsuits against each other around the globe since the American firm accused its Korean competitor of copying the look and feel of its iPhones and iPads early last year When launching its own smartphones and touch-screen tablets.

Park Hyun, a senior analyst at Tongyang Securities, believes Samsung's souring relationship with Apple could have a significant business effect. Park Hyun, a senior analyst at Tongyang Securities, Samsung Believes's souring relationship with Apple could have a significant business effect.

``It appears that Samsung is losing its multibillion dollar partnership as Apple has been its biggest parts client,'' Park said. `` It appears that Samsung is losing its multibillion dollar partnership as Apple has been its biggest client parts,'' Park said.

Since the early 2000s, Samsung has been involved in designing of Apple's A-range of chips as the main manufacturer. Since the early 2000s, Samsung has been Involved in designing of Apple's A-range of chips as the main manufacturer. Samsung technologies contributed in the development of the A6 predecessors A5 and A5X, thanks to a broad agreement between the two companies. Samsung Contributed technologies in the development of the A5 and A6 Predecessors A5X, thanks to a broad agreement between the two companies. It now appears that the structure of the deal has been dramatically adjusted. It now appears that the structure of the deal has been dramatically adjusted.

``There are three kinds of chip clients. `` There are three kinds of chip clients. Some want us to handle everything from chip design, architecture and manufacturing. Some want us to handle everything from chip design, architecture and manufacturing. Some want us to just design and manufacture. Some just want us to design and manufacture. Some want us to just make the chips. Some just want us to make the chips. Apple is now the third type,'' said the Samsung source. Apple is now the third type,'' said the Samsung source.

A hint of the rift between the firms over chips came last week when one of Samsung's top semiconductor designers, Jim Mergard, moved to Apple. A hint of the rift between the firms over chips came last week When one of Samsung's top semiconductor designers, Jim Mergard, moved to Apple. Mergard is known for his skills and experience in advanced application processors and low-power chips for mobile devices. Mergard is known for his skills and experience in advanced application processors and low-power chips for mobile devices.

``The high-profile hiring of someone like Mergard directly from a big rival no doubt increases mutual tension. `` The high-profile hiring of someone like Mergard Directly from a big rival no doubt Increases mutual tension. Apple wants to internalize its management, even for application processors, and to lower its dependency on Samsung for those logic chips,'' said the source. Apple wants to internalize its management, even for application processors, and to lower its dependency on Samsung For Those logic chips,'' said the source.

Samsung did manage to earn a larger paycheck from Apple for manufacturing the A6 than the previous processors. Samsung did manage to earn a larger paycheck from Apple for manufacturing the A6 than the previous processors. After all, it is probably the only semiconductor in the world that can do the heavy work for Apple in terms of making a large volume of high quality chips over a short period of time. After all, it is probably the only semiconductor in the world That can do the heavy work for Apple in terms of making a large volume of high quality chips over a short period of time.

Apple's last big investment in chips was in early 2010 with the acquisition of Texas-based Intrinsity. Apple's last big investment in chips was in early 2010 with the acquisition of Texas-based Intrinsity. Before that it was the 2008 purchase of chip design firm PA Semi. That it was before the 2008 purchase of chip design firm PA Semi.

Apple recently signed a deal with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) for the production of quad-core processors for future devices and it remains to be seen whether the Taiwanese chipmaker will eventually fill Samsung's shoes. Apple recently signed a deal with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) for the production of quad-core processors for future devices and it remains to be seen Whether the Taiwanese chipmaker will eventually fill Samsung's shoes.

A report from Barclays claimed TSMC will start producing Apple's A7 processors from the first quarter of 2014 and stressed hundreds of TSMC researchers and chip developers are currently set to produce processors that are free from Samsung patents. A report from Barclays Claimed TSMC will start producing Apple's A7 processors from the first quarter of 2014 and stressed Hundreds of TSMC chip Researchers and developers are currently in September to produce processors That Are free from Samsung patents.

``Samsung has already acknowledged that Apple has an appetite to carry out its own central processing unit (CPU) design,'' said another Samsung official familiar with the matter. `` That Samsung has acknowledged Already Apple has an appetite to carry out its own central processing unit (CPU) design,'' said another official familiar with the matter Samsung.

``Apple is threatened by Samsung's rapid rise. `` Threatened by Apple is Samsung's rapid rise. Apple is excluding it from major projects. Apple is EXCLUDING it from major projects. However, it can't completely wipe Samsung from its business partner list,'' he said, adding the US firm is asking Samsung to provide more flash-type memory chips. However, it can not completely wipe Samsung from its business partner list,'' he said, adding the U.S. firm is asking Samsung to Provide more December-type flash memory chips.

As the patent war deepens, the two companies have seen a faster deterioration of their business partnership. As the patent war deepens, the two companies have seen a faster deterioration of their business partnership. Apple has already reduced its memory chip orders from Samsung for the iPhone 5 as it intends to widen its supply chain. Already Apple has reduced its memory chip orders from Samsung for the iPhone 5 as it intends to widen its supply chain.

Unlike memory chips, which just read and write data, application processors control an entire computing system, therefore processor chips are more profitable. Unlike memory chips, Which just read and write data, application processors control an entire computing system, Therefore processor chips are more December profitable.

Samsung has been providing logic chips to Qualcomm, Nvidia and Texas Instruments. Samsung has been providing logic chips to Qualcomm, Nvidia and Texas Instruments. While the wafer allocation to those companies is increasing, Samsung is being asked to increase its foundry volumes and to build additional logic chip lines to better prepare for Apple's departure. While the wafer is Increasing allocation to Those companies, Samsung is being asked to INCREASE its foundry volumes and to build additional logic chip lines to better prepare for Apple's departure.

``Although Apple has excluded Samsung from key projects, we're not too worried as Samsung is selling more custom chips to other major companies such as Qualcomm and Nvidia,'' said the official. `` Although Apple has Samsung excluded from key projects, we're not too worried as Samsung is selling more December custom chips to other major companies Such as Qualcomm and Nvidia,'' said the official.

Samsung spokesman Ken Noh and Apple spokesman Steve Park refused to provide any comments for this story. Samsung spokesman Ken Noh and Apple spokesman Steve Park refused to Provide any comments for this story.

DRAM Market Plateau/ Flash NAND Growing

While the PC market is slowing as the article below discusses, the Tablet and iPad are new markets that should offer growth opportunities for both Flash NAND and DRAM.

The key reason that DRAM is slowing while NAND (and NOR) are growing faster is due to the inherent advantages of Flash vs. DRAM.






We can already see that Flash Memory Sales Surpass DRAM  additional reasons were mentioned in the March 2012 article When will Flash Memory Market be 2x of DRAMs


Ron
http://www.maltiel-consulting.com/







DRAM Makers Continue to Suffer as DRAM Price Falls

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/memory/display/20121032152632_DRAM_Makers_Continue_to_Suffer_as_DRAM_Price_Falls.html
4GB DDR3 DRAM Module's Price Drops to $16.25

by Anton Shilov 10/01/2012 

Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) market monitoring company DRAMeXchange claims that as notebook shipments show signs of weakening and Windows 8 looks unlikely to stimulate PC shipments, second-half September contract price continues on a downtrend.

Average transaction price per 4GB DDR module fell from $17.25 to 16.25, with a low of $16, close to the lowest price reached during the second half of 2011. Average 2GB module price, on the other hand, has dropped to $9.25, a 5.13% decrease compared to the first half of the month. As 4GB modules have replaced 2GB modules as the market mainstream, 4GB price drops have become more apparent.

At press time, one untested [eTT] 2Gb DDR3 chip price cost $0.683 on average in Taiwan's spot market, 2Gb DDR3 1333MHz/1600MHz chip's price was approximately $0.844, whereas 4Gb DDR3 1600MHz memory IC was priced at $2.545 on average on the spot market.

From the market perspective, DRAM average selling price has been plummeting at an increasing rate since July, reflecting not only weaker-than-expected seasonal demand, but also the fact that supply-side adjustments were not as effective as hoped. Using 4GB module price as the basis of calculation, 2Gb chip price has plunged to a low of $0.84, arriving at spot price levels. Looking at the spot market, as purchasing is weak, module makers are less eager to restock inventory. Both contract and spot prices reflect price negotiation difficulties, and transaction volume has been much lower than last quarter, clear indication that both module makers and PC OEMs have high stock levels; thus, buying momentum is not likely to pick up in the short term. In the absence of large-scale production cuts, TrendForce expects contract price will remain on a downtrend.

As the PC market has matured in recent years, in addition to the fact that the global economy is expected to worsen in the second half of this year, TrendForce forecasts PC shipments will see -3.9% growth for 2012. Furthermore, as consumers’ limited budgets and changing preferences steer them towards other mobile devices, smartphones and tablets are experiencing high growth while the PC market suffers. It is clear that PC demand is not as it was; the category is no longer the market mainstream, as shown by the fact that the 2012 PC DRAM shipment ratio has fallen below 50% for the first time.

On side, although makers are beginning to favor non-commodity DRAM production, PC DRAM supply is still in excess, which indicates restoring the supply-demand balance can no longer be achieved via production adjustments. A portion of commodity DRAM capacity must be permanently reduced if industry supply levels are to be lowered. According to TrendForce data, 2HSept. 4GB module price is approaching last year’s low, and is already below every DRAM maker’s total cost (based on mainstream 30nm process). Losses from commodity DRAM are not decreasing, and price is expected to continue falling in the short term unless large-scale capacity cuts are initiated.

Apple Cutting Out Samsung Chips?

Teardown of iPhone 5 reveals that none of  the DRAM, and NAND memory and other chips on the iPhone were made by Samsung. Already in the iPad (See March iPad teardown) Samsung had fewer parts than in previous Apple products. Samsung is still making the A6 processor for Apple.

The article below discusses the likelihood of Apple moving its processor away from Samsung. It is not likely to happen very soon.

The turn around of design and qualification of a new microprocessor design in a new fab vendor takes many months. Only very few companies have the processing and fab capacity capabilities to manufacture and design a new microprocessor (i.e. Intel and TSMC)  This is a result of the continuing consolidation of the semiconductor industry (see March comments Moore's Law End?).

Ron

http://www.maltiel-consulting.com/




Apple Just Took Its War With Samsung One Step Further


September 24, 2012 Stephen Rosenman

 The iPhone 5 tear down divulges lots of goodies: Triquint (TQNT) amp, STMicro (STM) accelerometer, Elpida DRAM, Hynix flash NAND, Qualcomm (QCOM) RF power chips, Skyworks (SWKS) amplifier module, Broadcom (BRCM) touch screen controller and Murata 339S0171 Wi-Fi module to name a few. Apple (AAPL) has blessed these vendors with an iPhone windfall.
Missing in action - Samsung (SSNLF.PK).
No Samsung components. Wow!

That Samsung battery present in the 4S. Gone. Looks like Sony got that! No more Samsung DRAM or Flash! Their high-resolution screen? That too has been replaced by Sharp, LG, and Japan Display.

Estimates were going as high as $11 billion of Samsung in Apple's line-up for 2012. Considering that Apple's COGS is $83 billion for trailing 12 months, Samsung was raking it in from its chief competitor. This marks a sea change.

Tim Cook definitely has taken this nuclear war to Samsung. First in the courtroom. And now in its choice of supplier.

In one fell swoop, Apple removed essentially all Samsung components from the 5.

Still, this is only one phone that's been taken apart. Perhaps, Samsung will show up in another iPhone 5. Apple does use multiple vendors for some of its components. We'll see if Samsung has been left out in the next tear down.

The only vestige of Samsung remaining: Fab for Apple's A6 chip. IHS estimates the per-ship cost of the A6 to be $17.50. At that price, Samsung will be seeing a ton of money coming their way. Just nowhere near $11 billion. From our first look within the iPhone 5, Samsung lost a lot of real estate. We're getting closer to a Samsung-free product. Good going, Apple.

Just one last step. My little suggestion: Move those A6s over to Intel (INTC). A long shot for sure but wars can create wild opportunities. Stranger things have happened.

Disclosure: I am long AAPL. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)