The semiconductor shortage and the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)’ production in 2021, but the top 10 OEMs — including Apple — increased their chip spending by 25.2% and accounted for 42.1% of the total market, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc.
Apple and Samsung Electronics have retained the top two spots since 2011 while swapping ranks through the years. The former now tops the list.
Apple spent approximately $69 million on chip spending in 2021. That’s up from $54 million in 2020. Gartner notes that Apple increased its spending on memory by 36.8% and on non-memory chips by 20.2% in 2021. However, it decreased its demand for computing microprocessing units (MPUs) due to the shift to its own in-house-designed application processors.
Uhm–isn’t that Billions with a B–not millions?