Supply chain likely unchanged for iPhone 5

Supply chain likely unchanged for iPhone 5

LONDON – Component suppliers for the iPhone 5 that was unveiled by Apple Wednesday (Sept. 12) will remain the same as those for the iPhone 4S, even though several components have changed, according to analysts at Nomura Equities Research.

Samsung will continue making the application processor based on an upgraded ARM-based processor for Apple, the A6 (see Analyst: Apple A6 processor is dual-core Cortex-A15). Similarly Qualcomm will continue to supply baseband components while Broadcom remains in place as connectivity chip supplier.

The iPhone 5 now supports LTE mobile communications, but it remains unclear whether LTE is supported by a single or separate Qualcomm chip, or whether another company will provide LTE capability.

Skyworks, Triquint and Avago are all listed by Nomura as suppliers of RF power amplifiers, just as they are for the iPhone 4S. Similarly, four memory suppliers are listed for both the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S; Samsung, SK Hynix, Toshiba and Elpida. Three suppliers of quartz crystal devices were also retained: TXC, Epson and NDK.

Changes come in the LCD area, according to Nomura, where Toshiba Mobile Display has been added along with Sharp and LG Display as LCD suppliers. The iPhone 5 includes a larger 4-inch, 1,136 by 640 pixel display.

Hon Hai will continue as the only contract manufacturer of the iPhone 5, a contract it shared with Pegatron for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. That could change over time, analysts said.

According to Nomura, image sensor suppliers are Sony and Omnivision, who also supplied these components for the iPhone 4 and 4S. Sony supplies the main 8-megapixel sensor while Omnivision provides the 1.2-megapixel forward-facing sensor. Largan and Genius are listed as suppliers of the camera lenses but are joined by newcomer Japan's Kantatsu of Japan. NXP Semiconductors and AAC Technologies retain their roles as suppliers of audio speaker driver while Knowles and AAC remain in place as providers of the MEMS microphones.

According to Nomura foundry analyst Patrick Liao, TSMC remains manufacturer of the baseband, connectivity, audio codec and power management IC chips. Texas Instruments will supply the touch screen sensor; STMicroelectronics continues as MEMS supplier..


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