According to market research firm IHS iSuppli, in 2010, , an increase of 79.6% from the $9.7 billion it spent in 2009.

"'s surge to leadership in semiconductor spending in 2010 was driven by the overwhelming success of its wireless products, namely the and the ," said iSuppli analyst Wenlie Ye. "These products consume enormous quantities of NAND flash memory, which is also found in the Apple iPod. Because of this, Apple in 2010 was the world's No. 1 purchaser of NAND flash."

While Apple is also in the top five manufacturers that purchase microprocessors, it was NAND flash that propelled it into the top spot overall, Ye said. "For Apple, which right now spends 60% of its semiconductor purchasing budget on wireless products, processors take the passenger seat when compared to NAND flash. "

In 2010, HP lead the market in microprocessor purchases with $5.3 billion spent, followed by Dell with $4.2 billion and Apple with $2.5 billion.

NAND flash, which is used to make solid-state drives (SSDs), is a nonvolatile medium, meaning when it's powered off it continues to retain data, unlike DRAM.