Apple's iPhone 6 Plus includes chips from Qualcomm, Skyworks: iFixit

[September 19, 2014]  By Noel Randewich

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple's iPhone 6 Plus uses chips from Qualcomm, Skyworks Solutions, Avago Technologies and other companies, according to gadget repair firm iFixit, which pried one of the devices open in Melbourne early on Friday.

Apple said it received a record 4 million first-day pre-orders for the new phones, double the number for the iPhone 5 two years ago, underscoring investors' expectations the new handset will maintain the Silicon Valley company's stellar growth.

The company is releasing a 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus. They will support more than 200 telecoms carriers worldwide, with sales launching in Australia on Friday morning and then in the United States and other countries.

Like previous iPhones, the iPhone 6 Plus uses a Qualcomm  4G LTE modem, according to iFixit.

Dissembling the device in a Mac repair shop after lining up overnight to buy a phone, iFixit technicians also discovered a Murata wifi module, a Broadcom <BRCM.O> touchscreen controller, and chips from Skyworks, Avago and TriQuint.
 

News that a supplier has been chosen - or rejected - for one of Apple's products can sometimes cause drastic swings in stock prices. Apple doesn't disclose which companies make the components that go into its smartphones. It also imposes strict rules forbidding its suppliers from discussing Apple-related business with investors and the media.

Shares of GT Advanced Technologies Inc, a mineral crystal specialist, slumped 13 percent on Sept 9 after some investors were surprised the US company's scratch-resistent sapphire glass was not being used on the new iPhones.

The phones launched on Friday are Apple's first to include NFC radio chips used for the new Apple Pay mobile payment platform. The NFC chip in the iPhone 6 Plus comes from NXP Semiconductors, according to iFixit, in line with most investors' expectations.

NXP also supplies a motion co-processor, key to making the iPhone's sensors work without draining its battery, iFixit said.

As in other iPhones, Apple has designed its own main processor with technology licensed from ARM Holdings and in this device it is the A8 chip.

The iPhone 6 Plus opened by iFixit also included a NAND flash memory chip, used for storing music and photos, made by SK Hynix  Apple in the past has depended on multiple companies to supply its memory chips.

Raymond James analysts expects sales of iPhone 6 and larger iPhone 6 Plus to top 9 million in the first weekend.

As well as Apple's stores, AT&T Inc, Sprint Corp  T-Mobile US Inc and Verizon Wireless in the United States will start selling the phones on Friday.

(Editing by Miral Fahmy)

[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.