According to Yonhap News,

(SEOUL=Yonhap News) South Korean chip giants Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. clinched a record share of the global mobile dynamic random access memory (DRAM) market in the fourth quarter, data showed Monday, apparently helped by increased orders from U.S. giant Apple Inc.

According to the data compiled by industry tracker DRAMeXchange, Samsung Electronics took up 58.2 percent of the mobile DRAM market in the October-December period, followed by SK hynix Inc. with 26.1 percent.

It marked the third consecutive quarter for the South Korean firms to set a new record for their combined market share.

U.S.-based Micron Technology Inc. came next with 14.3 percent in the fourth quarter, down 1 percentage point from a three-month period earlier.

"The top three suppliers' mobile DRAM revenue figures are closely tied to the amount of orders they each received from Apple," DRAMeXchange said.

"Samsung has been ahead of its competitors in the development of LPDDR4 technology by at least half a year, so the company was able gain most of Apple's orders as the first-choice supplier," it added.

The industry watcher, however, had a gloomy outlook on the mobile DRAM market for 2016.

"Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2016, the smartphone market is going to be negatively affected by the seasonal pattern and the slowing global economy. Even successful brands such as Apple are expected to experience a quarterly shipment decline of around 30 percent," it added.

colin@yna.co.kr

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