First look at Apple's new product supply chain! It is rumored that the charging power of iPhone 13 has been increased to 33W, and the proportion of Chinese suppliers has further increased
There are more and more news about Apple's autumn conference. According to the news, this year's iPhone conference may be scheduled in the middle of this month. In addition to the release of the iPhone 13 series, it will also bring new iPad, Macbook Pro, Apple Watch and other products.
Apple's conference has always been the most anticipated, and the supply chain of related products has also attracted much attention. Entering the fruit chain, for companies, not only can they get large orders to improve their performance, but their "value" has also increased a lot. It can be said that squeezing into Apple's supply chain has "profits but no harm." In terms of supply chain management, Apple is considered to be the "first" in the industry. From the supply chain list of new products this time, it is found that Apple's supply chain strategy is moving towards a multi-directional and diversified extension.
The relationship between Apple and the supply chain is also in the same boat. Apple has publicly stated that supply chain restrictions will affect the fourth-quarter performance and impact the sales of iPhone and iPad. From the supply chain of new products in the fall, we can further understand the closeness of Apple and its supply chain.
The first batch of 90 million new iPhones was produced, and TSMC won over 100 million A15 orders
Let's first look at the supply chain of the iPhone 13 series. According to reports, this conference is expected to launch four models of iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max. In June of this year, industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that iPhone shipments this year will be between 230 million and 240 million units, and will reach at least 250 million units by 2022. The first batch of iPhone 13 series mobile phones will produce 90 million units.
In terms of processors, the iPhone13 series of mobile phones will be equipped with 5nm process A15 series chips, which will be manufactured by TSMC. The order has exceeded expectations, reaching 100 million.
According to industry news, the iPhone 13 series A15 adopts TSMC’s 5nm technology and is equipped with a 5-core GPU. The CPU and GPU will be increased by 20% and 35% respectively. In addition, the NPU will be upgraded to integrate Qualcomm’s new generation of Snapdragon X60 baseband. . Judging from the breaking news, the performance of the iPhone 13 series will achieve a great leap forward. It is no wonder that Guofen expects every Apple conference.
In terms of the OEM of the iPhone 13 series, Hon Hai has won orders for the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max models. Among them, Hon Hai has received all orders for the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Pegatron received all iPhone 13 orders and 32% of iPhone 13 orders. It is worth noting that Luxshare Precision, which entered the fruit chain for the first time, also received 40% of iPhone 13 Pro orders.
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Chinese suppliers in the iPhone13 series supply chain
In terms of lenses, the iPhone 13 series will adopt a rear three-camera camera module. Before the new iPhone, most of the orders were taken by Taiwanese companies. Now, Sunny Optical has been providing lenses for the rear camera of the new iPhone, which has put a certain pressure on both Largan and Yujingguang. It is understood that the yield and cost performance of Sunny Optical's iPhone 7P wide-angle lens are slightly higher than that of Yujingguang. However, industry insiders believe that Sunny Optical has become an Apple supplier for the first time, and the share of foundry will not be very high this time.
Guo Mingchi predicted that the main lens suppliers for Apple mobile phones in the future will be Largan, Yujingguang and Sunny Optical. By 2022, Sunny Optical will expand production of approximately 50% of Apple's lens production capacity. It can also be seen that in order to win more orders from Apple, the competition in the supply chain will become more intense.
Battery life has always been criticized for Apple mobile phones. According to the news, the battery capacity of the four new iPhones are: iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro increased by about 10% to 3,095mAh; iPhone 13 mini increased by 8% to 2406mAh, iPhone 13 Pro Max increased by 18% to 4,352 mAh. The battery supplier may have BYD, in addition to Desai battery, Xinwangda.
In terms of charging, Apple has always been conservative. Android phones can already support 65W, or even more than 100W, but Apple is still hovering around 20W. For example, Apple did not equip the full range of iPhone 11 with 18W chargers until 2019, with a maximum charging power of 22W. In the 2020 iPhone 12 series, even the charger is also saved, which is called "environmental protection". However, it is also Apple's "environmental protection" strategy that has made domestic third-party fast-charging charging heads popular. Last year, there were market rumors that Apple’s iPhone 13 series phones to be released this month might support a maximum charging power of 33W. Therefore, many domestic third-party charger solution providers and equipment vendors prepared 33W early. GaN charger solution. Now they have everything ready, they only owe the wind of "Apple official support 33W". If Apple really announces it, this year may completely ignite the GaN fast charging market, and domestic manufacturers of GaN chips and GaN driver chips will benefit a lot. Recently, some insiders said that the iPhone 13 series may still only support up to 25W. Of course, if the final result waits two more weeks, we will know the result.
In terms of glass panels, it is rumored that the new iPhone will reduce the size of the "bangs". However, for many fruit fans, "Liu Haiping" seems to be smaller. Lens Technology, which used to provide glass panels and cover glass for iPhones, will provide a metal case for the new iPhone for the first time this year, and Bourne Optics will still provide glass panels.
In August 2020, Lens Technology acquired Kesheng Technology (Taizhou) Co., Ltd. and Keli Technology (Taizhou) Co., Ltd. for 9.9 billion yuan. Both companies are subsidiaries of Kecheng Technology. Technology is the main supplier of metal cases for Apple iPhone and Macbook.
For OLED panels, research organization Omdia predicts that in 2021, Apple is expected to need 106 million flexible OLED panels for the iPhone 13 series, including LTPS backplanes, LTPO backplanes, COP driver ICs, touch on TFE, and suppliers include Samsung Display , LG Display and BOE. BOE's panel is expected to start mass production in Q4 this year.
In the supply of acoustic devices, Goertek has entered Apple's supply chain starting with the iPhone 4, providing silicon microphones, speakers and other devices. It is understood that iPhone 11/11Pro is equipped with 4 silicon microphones, which come from Goertek and Lou's Electronics. GoerTek will continue to provide audio accessories for the iPhone 13, in addition to AAC Technologies.
In addition to the above-mentioned companies, according to a report from Nikkei Asia, Wingtech has also received orders for core parts of the new iPhone. In March of this year, Wingtech insiders said that after the acquisition of relevant assets of OFILM, Apple's business needs to be re-certified. The supply of front cameras to Apple is expected to resume soon, and the supply of rear cameras is also in progress. Judging from the report of Nikkei Asia, Wingtech’s Apple business is progressing smoothly.
Since Apple disclosed its supply chain list, we can find that Apple is expanding its supply chain map and is no longer focusing on suppliers such as Foxconn and Pegatron. The list has added more than 10 Chinese companies to gradually diversify. From the above analysis, we can also see that the proportion of Chinese suppliers in the "fruit chain" has been increasing, mainly in the areas of material supply modules and precision components.
The large-scale development of Apple's supply chain will drive the rapid development of the entire industrial chain. For Apple, this will increase the bargaining power of foundry. It has to be said that Apple is prepared in terms of cost control.
Electronic enthusiasts organize based on public information
Tight supply and demand, production challenges, Macbook Pro, Watch mass production or face delays?
Regardless of performance or product form, Apple can live up to expectations and bring surprises at every new product launch. It is understood that the new MacBook Pro will be equipped with Apple's self-developed chip "M1X" processor, manufactured by TSMC, and the screen will be upgraded to a Mini LED screen, including 14-inch and 16-inch versions. Apple Watch will add a new blood pressure sensor and waterproof function.
It is precisely because of performance upgrades that Apple encounters challenges in the production process, and the industry has reported that the mass production of Apple's Macbook Pro and Apple Watch will be limited.
Nikkei Asia reported that the addition of a blood pressure sensor and waterproof function has resulted in a complicated design of the new Apple Watch, and the manufacturing process is also facing more challenges. Apple may postpone the production of the new Apple Watch model. For the new MacBook Pro, the supply chain revealed more information: the MacBook Pro supply chain started mass production in August, and the monthly shipments will reach 300,000 to 400,000 units. By the end of the year, the shipment of the new MacBook Pro is expected to reach 2.4 million units to 3.2 million units. It can be seen that the demand for MacBook Pro is high, and the pressure on suppliers is not small.
In the Mini LED component supply chain of MacBook Pro, public information shows that Mini LED SMT suppliers include Ruiyi Optoelectronics, Zhending Technology, Tripod Technology, Maolin Optoelectronics, Ruiyi Optoelectronics, and Osram Opto Semiconductors have all become Apple Mini LED components. Supplier. In order to meet the production capacity of MacBook Pro, Apple invested 200 million US dollars to build a Mini LED production line. At present, there is no news that the Macbook Pro and Watch will be released later. Like the iPad Pro, they may be released first and then shipped. But we can also find that due to the high demand for Apple products, any "movements" in the supply chain may affect production.
Apple's "independent and controllable" road: terminals may use self-developed chips
In addition to increasing suppliers, Apple is also gradually opening up its own ecological chain and applying self-developed chips to all terminal products. For example, Apple will use the iPad Pro 2021 for the M1 developed for the Mac, and the new MacBook Pro will continue to use this series of processors. Regarding the self-developed chip, Cook once said that he would choose a better one and think about whether he can do his best. "Apple will exert greater value in the field where it is good at, and provide users with better products where it has the ability to do well", indicating that Apple will also achieve "independent and controllable" if its capabilities and the market are balanced ".
It is understood that Apple also plans to launch a 5G baseband, which is expected to be used on the iPhone in 2023. At the same time, Apple is developing chips with 20-core and 40-core configurations. It is expected that the full range of iMac products will use Apple chips by 2023.
M1 allows Apple to reduce its dependence on Intel. Once the baseband is launched, its dependence on Qualcomm will also decrease. The most witty aspect of Apple's supply chain management is to minimize its reliance on a certain company or several companies, and at the same time expand Apple's overall interests. According to data from research institutions in the industry, each self-developed chip can save Apple US$150 to US$200 in cost.
Apple is good at achieving scale effects in its products. An M1 chip can be used in different terminals, which not only reduces later development costs, but also maximizes economic benefits. Apple, which is ambitious in the consumer electronics market, has never been limited to single-line products. In the future, high-end laptops may also unify the supply of Mini-LED screens.
summary
As the "boss" of the consumer electronics industry, Apple's strength is not only reflected in its supply chain management. There have been many "spoilers" in the industry for the autumn conference. It is not only consumers but also solution providers waiting for Apple's conference. All speculations in the industry will be verified on the day of the conference. This conference will be given to the industry. What kind of east wind the chain brings, you may wish to look forward to it.
