Apple confirms purchase of flash memory company Anobit

Apple’s spokesman Steve Dowling confirmed on Tuesday that the company recently purchased Anobit Technologies, an Israel-based flash memory component maker, though it declined to reveal the cost of the deal. “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans,” Steve Dowling added. As far as we remember Apple planned to spend for acquisition of the company as much as $500 million. According to a Hebrew-language newspaper, the deal was finalized in December.

Apple already uses Anobit parts in its iOS devices and the MacBook Air, and the firm's proprietary "Memory Signal Processing" (MSP) technology reportedly attracted the Cupertino, Calif., company's interest. Anobit claims MSP can improve the reliability, performance, efficiency and endurance of flash memory.

The technology could also offer some cost benefits for Apple, as it allows less expensive types of flash memory to be used. One report claimed Apple could see savings of between 10 to 20 percent on its flash purchases as a result of the Anobit acquisition.

In the past, Apple preferred to pre-purchase flash memory units for its devices, spending billions of dollars on deals with memory chip makers. Last January Apple reported that it has spent $3.9 billion for the long-term component contracts similar to its flash pre-purchases. Apparently, now the company doesn’t need to worry any more about flash memory components for its devices and look for similar strategic opportunities.