Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPad tablet is expected to dominate
worldwide demand for NAND flash memory chips in media tablets at
least through 2015, thanks to its leading market share position and
high memory usage, industry researcher IHS Inc. (IHS) said.
The iPad in 2011 accounted for 78% of global gigabyte shipments
of NAND flash for use in media tablets, down from 92% in 2010, when
it had the market all to itself for most of the year. Despite the
inroads of competitors this year, Apple will continue to dominate
tablet NAND purchasing in 2012, with a 72% share of gigabyte
shipments. By 2015, Apple will continue to account for a majority
of tablet NAND purchasing, at 58%, IHS said.
As a high-end offering in the tablet market, the iPad employs a
larger density of NAND than its competitors, IHS memory analyst Dee
Nguyen said, meaning the device will continue to drive growth in
NAND shipments for the tablet market for the next several
years.
The iPad's majority purchasing in NAND chips comes as IHS
recently forecast sales of semiconductors for tablets are expected
to surge to $18.2 billion in 2014, up from $2.6 billion in 2010,
the year that Apple launched its tablet. By 2014, semiconductor
sales for tablets are expected to be exceeded only by mobile
handsets, mobile personal computers and desktop PCs. Media tablets
ranked as the 35th largest market for semiconductors in 2010, they
jumped to the No. 8 position in 2011 and will climb to fifth place
this year, IHS said.
Overall shipments of NAND flash for all media tablets will rise
to 16.3 billion gigabytes by 2015, up from 1.6 billion gigabytes in
2011. By 2015, IHS said, media tablets will account for 17% of
global NAND shipments, up from 9% in 2011.
But while the iPad has taken in most of the NAND shipments, its
appetite for the other major type of semiconductor memory, DRAM,
has been more restrained, due to its operating system and hardware
being designed in tandem. Other tablets don't have the same luxury
and end up using more DRAM.
-By Ben Fox Rubin, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3108; ben.rubin@dowjones.com