It's no secret that Samsung manufactures the slender chipsets packed inside Apple iPhones, but some might be surprised to know that 26 percent of Apple iPhones are comprised of Samsung parts.
The Economist took an updated teardown provided by iSuppli and turned it into the nifty infographic below. Turns out, 26 percent of the bill of materials for the iPhone 4 went straight to Samsung.
Samsung made the ARM-based A4 processor that powers the phone, the iPhone's NAND-type Flash memory, and the mobile Double Data Rate (DDR) SDRAM memory. An earlier teardown from iSuppli shows that Samsung also made the baseband integrated circuit, though the updated teardown says it came from Taiwan's Infineon. Other component suppliers include Murata for the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chip, Texas Instruments for the audio component, and Micron for more flash memory.
Samsung has provided components for the Apple iPhone for years now, but that relationship might be on thin ice now that Samsung mobile devices have emerged as the strongest force against Apple, and the company makes one in four cell phones in the United States. And to make matters worse, Apple is aggressively seeking to ban the Samsung's flagship Galaxy lineup around the world for "slavishly copying" the iPhone. The Samsung Galaxy S II phone is making its way to U.S. shores, but Apple has succeeded in temporarily blocking imports of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the European Union and Australia. Last week, the International Trade Commission agreed to hear Apple's argument for banning the Galaxy S II and Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the U.S.
The second part of the infographic, based on IDC figures, is all about margins. Apple's whopping "slice" for every iPhone it sells is $368 of the $560 retail price tag, or a 66 percent. Foxconn, Apple's beleaguered, Taiwanese assembly partner, receives 7 percent of the price tag, which is closer to what rival smartphone manufacturers make.
For more, see The Economist's blog post.
Source:http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2391097,00.asp?kc=PCRSS05039TX1K0000762
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