Preliminary figures sourced by Gartner for 2011 proclaim Apple as the newly crowned top customer for semiconductors on the planet, pushing the firm well ahead of 2010's biggest buyer HP.
Hitting on HP
Indeed, last year leader HP was pushed down to third, with Korean electronics giant Samsung enjoying growth of 9.2 percent year on year to take second spot worth $16.7 billion.
In comparison, Apple jumped to top spot thanks to a 34.6 percent year on year increase in orders, totalling $17.3 billion in all.
Smart growth for smartphones
"The major growth drivers in 2011 were smartphones, media tablets and solid-state drives," said principle research analyst Masatsune Yamaji.
"Those companies that gained share in the smartphone market, such as Apple, Samsung Electronics and HTC, increased their semiconductor demand, while those who lost market share in this segment, such as Nokia and LG Electronics, decreased their semiconductor demand.
"Media tablets were also a growth driver for the semiconductor market throughout 2011."
Gartner claims Apple has enjoyed similar levels of annual growth over the past five years, with the company gaining a "much greater share of the smartphone market" in 2011 than in previous years.
[source: Gartner]
