New dissected iPhone reveals Intel, Micron and Toshiba parts

(Reuters) – Apple Inc. (AAPL.O) the latest iPhones use components made by Intel Corp. (INTC.O), Micron Technology (MU.O) and Toshiba (6502.T) among others, according to a firm that has opened iPhone XS and XS Max.

Among the first detailed dismantling of phones since their launch in September, the study www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone+XS++andXS+Max+Teardown/113021 performed by the repair firm iFixit did not list, as expected, no chips from Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM.O).

The supply of spare parts for Apple's iPhones is seen as a stunt for chip makers and other manufacturers, and Apple does not disclose which companies manufacture the components while insisting that its suppliers be silent.

This makes disassembling the only way to determine the distribution of parts in phones, although analysts also recommend caution in the conclusions because Apple sometimes uses multiple vendors for a part. What is in one iPhone may not be found in others.

Qualcomm has been a component supplier for Apple for years, but both have been involved in a large-scale legal dispute in which Apple has accused Qualcomm of unfair patent licensing practices.

Qualcomm, the world's largest maker of mobile phone chips, has accused Apple of patent infringement.

Qualcomm confirmed in July that Apple intended to use only "competing modems" in its next iPhone version.

Disassembly showed the iPhone XS and XS Max was using Intel's modem and communication chips instead of Qualcomm's hardware.

The latest iPhones also had Micron and Toshiba DRAM and NAND memory chips, while previous versions of iPhone 7 had shown Samsung-made DRAM chips.

"For the memory, Apple is obviously competing with Samsung and wants to reduce their dependence as much as possible, so we see Toshiba for NAND flash storage and Micron for DRAM," said Abhinav Davuluri, a Morningstar analyst.

IFixit technicians also found components from companies, including Skyworks Solutions (SWKS.O), Broadcom (AVGO.O), Murata (6981.T), NXP Semiconductors (NXPI.O), Cypress Semiconductor (CY.O), Texas Instruments (TXN.O) and STMicroelectronics (STM.BN) among others.