Apple is now the top chip buyer - The Boston Globe

Another Apple sign of the times

Apple Inc. is the world’s largest buyer of chips for computers and phones and bought $17.5 billion worth last year, surpassing Hewlett-Packard Co., IHS iSuppli said yesterday. That was an increase of 80 percent from the year before, the research firm said.

An iPhone contains about $80 worth of chips, iSuppli said.

Apple’s iPhones and iPads use large amounts of expensive flash memory, accounting for much of the company’s chip consumption. Apple sold 48 million iPhones last year, up 89 percent from the previous year. PC sales grew 14 percent.

Apple is now the top chip buyer - The Boston Globe