[News] Apple Reportedly Sources 60–70% of iPhone 17 LPDDR5X from Samsung, Eyeing iPhone 18 Volumes

With iPhone 17 breaking sales records, Apple CEO Tim Cook offered a rare glimpse into the company’s holiday-quarter outlook at the latest earnings call, stating that Apple expects to achieve a new all-time revenue record in December, as reported by MacRumors. Against this backdrop, Hankyung now suggests Samsung could be one of the biggest beneficiaries, reportedly securing 60–70% of the iPhone 17 LPDDR supply as the top supplier of LPDDR5X.

Notably, Apple has also requested large LPDDR volumes from Samsung for the upcoming iPhone 18, set to launch in September next year, according to Hankyung.

The report highlights that this adjustment for iPhone 17 marks a significant increase in Samsung’s share, noting that in previous iPhone models, Samsung and SK hynix were believed to supply roughly equal portions.

While Apple has never officially disclosed supplier shares, The Wall Street Journal and The Korea Herald reported that after Samsung and Apple launched a smartphone patent lawsuit in 2011, Apple substantially increased LPDDR orders from SK hynix. Hankyung suggests that SK hynix likely held a supply edge in iPhone LPDDR deliveries from 2012 through 2018.

Why Apple Can’t Do Without Samsung

Hankyung attributes Apple’s growing reliance on Samsung to two key factors. First, with SK hynix and Micron recently focusing their production capacity on HBM, Samsung has become the primary source for mainstream DRAM. Second, Samsung’s ability to meet Apple’s exacting standards is also cited as a major reason for its rising share.

The report adds that Samsung’s 12GB LPDDR5X measures just 0.65 mm thick — the thinnest among current LPDDR5 products — while improving thermal resistance and power consumption by 21.2% and 25%, respectively, compared with the previous generation.

Samsung’s role at Apple becomes even more critical as iPhone memory capacity grows with each new generation. Hankyung reports that the iPhone 17 Air, Pro, and Pro Max now feature 12GB LPDDR5X, the largest memory ever in an iPhone. By comparison, iPhone 15 and 16 models used 8GB LPDDR.

Samsung’s collaboration with Apple is gaining momentum as it expands U.S. production. The Elec reports that Samsung will manufacture a new CMOS image sensor (CIS) for Apple at its Austin fab using a wafer-to-wafer (W2W) hybrid bonding method. The Austin S1 fab is slated to begin producing the CIS at a capacity of around 10,000 units per month starting in March next year, the report adds.

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(Photo credit: Apple)