Apple's grip on flash-storage suppliers reportedly loosens as AI hyperscalers bid up prices

AI hyperscalers are bidding up flash-storage prices and buying supply, weakening Apple's longtime bargaining advantage with flash-storage makers, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Flash chips in iPhones store photos, music and apps. The Journal says Apple was once the world's biggest buyer of flash and used that position to press suppliers for steep discounts. It also reports that Apple made flash makers open their books to monitor sales and check whether other buyers were getting better deals.

The Journal identifies Scott Nelson as a flash-storage sales executive at Japan-based Kioxia. Its account describes his frustration with the terms Kioxia got from Apple: Nelson used Android phones in protest and, during a desert ride, shot an old iPod. He kept the broken pieces on his desk. The Journal reports that AI hyperscalers have started outbidding Apple, giving flash makers more leverage than Kioxia had before.