Fan Apple appearing on facebookunder the nickname TechByNimit created a very interesting infographic that shows how much and which specific suppliers are involved in the motherboards that we find in iPhone 17. Although Apple designs its own A-series chips, the phone itself is composed of a huge number of specialized componeEach of them is supplied by a company that has focused on a given area for a long time.
Qualcomm, for example, plays a dominant role, as it will continue to provide modems for mobile networks this year. This is interesting mainly because Apple has been working on its own modem for several years. It appeared in the iPhone 16e, but in the more powerful series iPhone 17 the company still relies on Qualcomm solutions. The analysis also shows that the RAM comes from the South Korean company SK hynix, which supplies 8GB LPDDR memory. The NAND flash storage is provided by the Japanese company Kioxia, one of the largest memory chip manufacturers in the world. Memory chips are currently one of the most expensive parts of modern smartphones. Moreover, their prices have been increasing in recent months due to huge demand from manufacturers of artificial intelligence servers.
Broadcom, Bosch and Texas Instruments
The list of suppliers also includes several long-standing partners Applu. Broadcom supplies componenty for wireless charging and other communication circuits. Texas Instruments provides, for example, a USB interface or NFC parts of the device. Bosch takes care of accelerometers and gyroscopes, i.e. sensors that measure the movement of the phone and enable the correct functioning of navigation, image stabilization or various fitness functions. There is also Cirrus Logic, which traditionally supplies audio codecs and amplifiers, or Renesas, whose chips control the power supply to individual parts of the phone. Much of the technology for NFC continues to be supplied by the Dutch company NXP. Its chips are behind contactless payments via Apple Pay and the phone's communication with other electronics. In the high-frequency part of the phone, we find Skyworks and Qorvo, which produce power amplifiers and other RF components.onenty needed to connect to mobile networks.
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Apple is still dependent on global suppliers
Although Apple designs more of its own chips every year, this analysis clearly shows that making a modern smartphone is a huge global collaboration. One iPhone contains technologies from companies in the USA, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands and other countries. It is this dependence on the supply chain that is one of the reasons why Apple In recent years, it has invested billions of dollars in developing its own modems, Wi-Fi chips, and other components.onent. The goal is to gradually reduce dependence on external manufacturers and have an even greater part of the hardware under control. However, the analysis of the iPhone 17 shows that this path will still be long. Qualcomm, Broadcom, SK hynix, Kioxia or Bosch remain for Apple remain absolutely key partners and without their technologies today would not be iPhone it simply couldn't work.
