Apple has recently placed huge orders for mobile DRAM memory with Elpida Memory's 12-inch plant in Hiroshima (Japan), securing about 50% of the total chips produced at the facility, according to industry sources.
Apple reportedly will source mobile DRAM chips from Elpida for its upcoming iPad and iPhone series, despite the fact that the Japan chipmaker filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and has been in talks to sell its business, the sources observed.
None of the companies involved has confirmed the speculation.
Micron Technology has been pinpointed as the potential buyer of Elpida. The US firm will cut into the supply chain for the upcoming iPad and iPhone devices through its takeover of Elpida, the sources said.
Moreover, Apple's strong demand is expected to significantly boost Micron's presence in the global mobile DRAM market, the sources noted. Acquiring Elpida will allow Micron to challenge SK Hynix, which was ranked second by DRAMeXchange as the world's second-largest mobile DRAM producer in the fourth quarter of 2011.
According to DRAMeXchange, Samsung Electronics led the global market for mobile DRAM chips with a 53.8% share in fourth-quarter 2011, followed by Hynix with 20.8%.