Apple in 2011 became the biggest purchaser of semiconductors, beating out all other leading electronic manufacturers, including Samsung Electronics and HP, technology research firm Garner said on Tuesday.
Apple increased its spending on semiconductors 34.6 percent, from about $12.8 billion in 2010 to $17.3 billion in 2011, Garner estimated. That was enough to boost the company from the number three spot in 2010 to number one last year.
Samsung retained the number two spot for the second year in a row, though it also increased its spending on semiconductors 9.2 percent, from $15.3 billion in 2010 to $16.7 billion last year, according to Gartner. HP, meanwhile, dropped to the third spot from number one in 2010, decreasing its spending on such technologies 5.5 percent, from $17.6 billion in 2010 to $16.6 billion last year.
"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," Masatsune Yamaji, principal research analyst at Gartner, said in a statement.
Apple's success of the MacBook Air was another factor contributing to its increase in demand for semiconductor chips.
Dell, meanwhile, took the number four spot, buying about $9.8 billion worth of semiconductors in 2011, about 6.7 percent less than it had the previous year. Number five Nokia decreased its spending 20.1 percent, the most of any leading electronic equipment manufacturer, to $9 billion last year. Rounding out the top 10 was Sony, followed by Toshiba, Lenovo, LG Electronics, and Panasonic.
Overall, leading electronic equipment vendors bought $105.6 billion worth of semiconductors during the year, about 35 percent of semiconductor vendors' total chip revenue.
Gartner's findings mirror data on the semiconductor market released in June by IHS iSuppli.
Earlier this month, notoriously secretive Apple revealed more than 150 suppliers on its supplier responsibility page for the first time.
For more, see PCMag's year in review for HP and Apple.