Groundbreaking iPhone 5s Carries $199 BOM and Manufacturing Cost

Apple’s Inc.’s new flagship product—the iPhone 5s—features some cutting-edge components that represent pioneering achievements for the smartphone market while maintaining a nearly identical cost compared to Apple's iPhone 5.
The photos below show the Apple iPhone 5s 16 GB model A1533 before the teardown and an exploded view of what's inside. Photos courtesy of IHS.

The low-end version of the iPhone 5s with 16 gigabytes (GB) of NAND flash memory has a bill of materials (BOM) of $191, according to the preliminary results of a physical dissection of the device conducted by the Teardown Analysis Service of IHS Electronics & Media. When the $8 manufacturing expense is added in, the cost rises to $199. The compares to a $197 total cost for the original iPhone 5, based on the completed IHS teardown analysis from one year ago.
“The iPhone 5s features a 64-bit apps processor, low-power Double Data Rate 3 (LPDDR3) DRAM, and a novel fingerprint sensor—features that have never before been seen in a smartphone,” said Andrew Rassweiler, senior director, cost benchmarking services for IHS. “In addition, it is very interesting to see that Apple continues to collaborate closely with suppliers to develop unique radio frequency (RF) solutions that give Apple a competitive edge.”
The photos below show the top and bottom of the main printed circuit board inside the Apple iPhone 5s. Photos courtesy of IHS.

The table below presents the preliminary BOM and manufacturing cost based on a physical dissection of the iPhone 5s conducted by the IHS Teardown Analysis Service. Note that the teardown assessment is preliminary in nature, accounts only for hardware and manufacturing costs and does not include other expenses such as software, licensing, royalties or other expenditures.

iPhone turns 64
Although other smartphones have included 64-bit graphics processors, the 5s is the first model with a 64-bit applications processor, an innovation that has major implications for the iPhone and for Apple’s other product lines.
“The move to the 64-bit apps processor is largely driven by the need for greater computational power to ensure that the smartphone’s fingerprint sensor works quickly and seamlessly,” said Wayne Lam, senior analyst for wireless communications at IHS. “The processor also boosts the performance of the iPhone 5s’s camera, allowing 120 frame-per-second (FPS) video and 10 FPS photo capture. This design change will likely set the stage for 64-bit processors to be used in upcoming Apple products, including new models of the iPad, the Apple TV and even MacBook Air PCs.”
The 64-bit processor is part of the Apple-designed A7 apps processor, based on a core from ARM Holdings plc. The new 64-bit processor core is called “Cyclone,” as opposed to the 32-bit version used in the iPhone 5 and 5c, known as “Swift.”
Despite the well-publicized feud between the companies, Samsung is the manufacturer of Apple’s A7. This likely is because Samsung has a license to ARM's 64-bit core.
The A7 used in the iPhone 5s costs $19—significantly higher than the A6 used in the original iPhone 5 and 5c, which currently carries a cost of $13.
Precious memories
In parallel with the upgrade to 64-bit computing, Apple has updated the memory of iPhone 5s to LPDDR3, marking the first time that the IHS Teardown Analysis Service has identified this advanced type of DRAM in an electronic product. Apple probably used this high-speed, cutting-edge memory—as opposed to the LPDDR2 employed in the original iPhone 5 and 5c—to support the fast processing speeds of the A7.
Such performance comes at a price. The 1 GB of LPDDR3 costs $11.00, up from $9.50 for the same quantity of LPDDR2 in the 5c.
Printing money
The addition of the fingerprint scanner also represents an increased hardware cost for the 5s. The user-interface segment of the 5s, which includes the fingerprint scanner, costs $15. This compares to just $8 for the user interface for the 5c, which has no fingerprint scanner.
Battle of the bands
Another major difference between the iPhone 5s and the original iPhone 5 lies in the RF transceiver, which has been updated to support more 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) bands. Like the iPhone 5c, the 5s uses Qualcomm’s WTR1605L RF Transceiver, which supports up to seven simultaneous LTE connections during operations. The original iPhone 5 utilizes the older RTR8600L RF transceiver, also from Qualcomm, which supported only five active LTE bands.
Design Stasis
One of the biggest-ticket items in the iPhone 5s gets no change: the display and touch-screen subsystem. Maintaining the same specification and the same suppliers for the panels as the iPhone 5 has helped Apple hold the line on its hardware costs for the 5s. Japan Display Inc., LG Display and Sharp have been the main display suppliers for the iPhone 5 for more than a year, allowing Apple to provide them the opportunity to enhance their manufacturing yields and efficiencies. NAND flash has also not made any significant advances with the 5s, and the amount of the memory content in the phone remains the same.
Higher prices for higher-end phones
The combined BOM and manufacturing cost for the midrange iPhone 5s with 32 GB of NAND flash is estimated at $208. The 64-GB model’s cost totals $218.
Apple Continues Familiar Design and Pricing Strategy with iPhone 5c
Far from the major departure that many had expected, the iPhone 5c turned out to follow Apple Inc.’s familiar formula, combining premium pricing with a hardware design almost completely identical to the original iPhone 5, according to preliminary results from the Teardown Analysis Service of IHS Electronics & Media.
The photos below show the Apple iPhone 5c 16 GB model A1532 before the teardown and an exploded view of what's inside. Photos courtesy of IHS.

The low-end model of Apple’s iPhone 5c with 16 gigabytes (GB) of NAND flash memory carries a bill of materials (BOM) of $166, based on a physical dissection of the production. The cost rises to $173 when the $7 manufacturing expense is added in. The 32-GB model carries a combined cost of $183.
While this is considerably less than the $197 BOM and manufacturing cost for the original 16-GB iPhone 5 based on the final results of the IHS teardown conducted one year ago, it’s still on the high end for a smartphone. To attain the cost and pricing required to merit low-end pricing of $400, while maintaining Apple’s customary high hardware margin, the combined BOM and manufacturing expense for the iPhone 5c would have had to amount to about $130.
“Many expected Apple to take an affordable strategy with the iPhone 5c, producing a lower-cost smartphone that would be priced at around $400 in order to address developing markets, such as China,” said Wayne Lam, senior analyst for wireless communications at IHS. “However, the reality of the iPhone 5c is completely different, with Apple offering a phone with a $173 BOM and manufacturing cost, and a $549 price tag—without subsidies. Once again, Apple has stuck to its old tried-and-true formula of optimizing its iPhone hardware gross margins to attain maximum profitability.”
The table below presents the preliminary BOM based on a physical dissection of the iPhone 5c conducted by the IHS Teardown Analysis Service. Note that the teardown assessment is preliminary in nature, accounts only for hardware and manufacturing costs and does not include other expenses such as software, licensing, royalties or other expenditures.

Just one word: plastic
Just as Apple’s pricing strategy for the 5c is familiar, so are the phone’s electronic content and design.
“The iPhone 5c is basically an iPhone 5 in a plastic disguise,” said Andrew Rassweiler, senior director, cost benchmarking services for IHS. “Just as in the original iPhone 5, the 5c uses an Apple A6 processor, a 4-inch retina display, and low-power Double Data Rate 2 (DDR2) DRAM—among other commonalities. Because of this, the iPhone 5c benefits from the normal cost reductions that typically occur for electronic devices during the period of a year. The combination of the design and component reuse—and the plastic enclosure—has allowed Apple to offer a less expensive version of the iPhone, although it’s still not cheap enough to be a true low-cost smartphone.”
The photos below show the top and bottom of the main printed circuit board inside the Apple iPhone 5c. Photos courtesy of IHS.

Display decline
The display module in the 5c carries a cost of $41, down 7 percent from $44 one year ago.
“Maintaining the same specification and the same suppliers for the panels as the iPhone 5 has helped Apple hold the line on its display costs for the 5s,” said Vinita Jakhanwal, director of mobile and emerging displays and technology at IHS. “Japan Display Inc., LG Display and Sharp have been the main display suppliers for the iPhone 5 for more than a year, allowing Apple to provide them the opportunity to enhance their manufacturing yields and efficiencies.”
Getting the bands back together
The biggest difference between the iPhone 5c and the original iPhone 5 lies in the radio frequency (RF) transceiver, which has been updated to support more 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) bands. The 5c uses Qualcomm’s WTR1605L RF transceiver, which supports up to seven simultaneous LTE connections during operations. The iPhone 5 used the older RTR8600L RF transceiver, also from Qualcomm, that supported only up to five active LTE bands.

Apple ios 7 guide how-to-update navigate and everything else

Apple’s new iOS 7 is out today for download. Here’s everything you need to know about updating to the new software. Compatibility: iOS 7 will support iPhone 4 and later, ipad 2 and higher, iPad Mini, and iPod Touch fifth generation.  So for everyone with an iPod 4th generation, sorry the update is not for you. Of course iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c will be launched with iOS 7 . How to upgrade:   To update go to settings, click on software update, hit download and install and pray that the Apple servers don’t disappoint you. Do note that you will need WiFi to the update. Alternately you can connect your iPad/iPhone to your Mac/Windows device and update via iTunes. You will need the latest version of iTunes for the update. Closing apps: Apple’s iOS 7 is all about swiping. To close apps, you don’t have to go to the bottom bar anymore. To see the task manager, simply swipe in the centre of your iPad (bottom to top and with four fingers) and the task manager will appear. To close an app, just swipe the app to the top and it will disappear. To close an app while you are using it, you can still pinch to close. Of course you can still move between apps that are already open by just swiping to the left or right with four fingers. Apple’s iOS 7 is here. Camera: You can now access the camera via  the locked screen. Just swipe camera symbol at the bottom right corner of your device to the top of the your device screen. Once you do that the camera is ready for use. To switch from Photo to Video mode you will have to slide up and down on the options instead of clicking. Remember no click, just slide. Control Center: This is available even in lock screen mode. Just swipe the bottom of your screen and the panel will appear. You can set mute alarms, switch on AirPlane Mode, WiFi, Bluetooth, AirDrop, Camera, Clock, adjust screen brightness, volume, music all from the Control Center. It’s pretty convenient. Notifications:The Notification Centre is still on top. It will give details about new mail, missed calls, etc. It also has a new feature called ‘Today’ which will give users a summary of everything they have lined up for the day. Users can also access the Notification Center from any screen, including the Lock screen by swiping down. Search iPad: Just swipe down from anywhere on the iPad with three fingers. The search bar will appear on top. Photos: Photos are now organised according to moments aka when and where they were taken. The albums are according to date and can be organised according to year as well. Also to share photos, look at the bottom left, you’ll see a little rectangle with an arrow. Click on that and choose the share option. Apple’s done a good job hiding that option.

Everything You Need to Know About the BlackBerry Z30

Here’s Jorge Fernando Vazquez with everything you need to know to get your apps ready for the BlackBerry Z30 smartphone – Ed.

The new BlackBerry Z30 is a full touch-screen device that introduces some changes that you need to consider as a developer.
In this post, I will start by pointing out some of the differences between the BlackBerry Z10, BlackBerry Z30 and BlackBerry Q10 smartphones, and then I’ll show you how to make the porting process as easy as possible for each of our development platforms (Cascades, WebWorks, Adobe Air, and Android).

Know The Differences

As you can see, the BlackBerry Z30 display is larger and has a more narrow aspect ratio than the BlackBerry Z10, therefore, we need to be careful while designing our apps so that there are no cropped images, or overlapping components.

The camera features are the same across all three devices, so there is no need for adjustments there.

The BlackBerry Z30 comes with a more powerful processor than the BlackBerry Z10 or BlackBerry Q10, giving us higher graphics capabilities.

All other features are common across all three devices, the exception being that the BlackBerry Q10 has a physical keyboard and the others have a full touch screen.

HOW TO MORE LIKES FOR FACEBOOK FAN PAGE WITHOUT ADS AND MONEY

HI THIS A GREAT THING THAT YOU CAN GET LOTS OF FOLLOWERS,FANS,AND LIKES WITHOUT ANY MONEY SPENT

HERE IS THE ONE DIRECT WAY THAT IS LIKE EXCHANGE SITES.

1.Like4Like.org

2.FREE Social Promotion

3.COMING SOON

THE ABOVE TWO ARE FAMOUS.

THE PROCESS WORKS LIKE YOU LIKE THEIR PAGE THEY LIKE YOURS.

HERE IS THE PROOF
ABOUT WEBSITE

CHECK THE PAGE VIEWS FROM 504 TO 13733

NEXT EXAMPLE- FACEBOOK FANS
WITH 1006 FANS IN 2 DAYS.

THANKS A LOT FOR MORE USEFUL TIPS VISIT OUR HOW TO SITE.

FOLLOW US http://www.facebook.com/EDITORTARUN

FACEBOOK PAGE http://www.facebook.com/pages/APPS-4-ALL-Mobile/468674159868068

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD OUR HOW TO APP FROM WWW.APPS4ALLMOBI.COM

Five noteworthy features of the Samsung Galaxy Note III

The next generation of the Samsung Galaxy Note series is finally out, we list some of the interesting features that makes the Note III unique in our books.

Samsung finally lifted the veil off its much-awaited Galaxy Note III and the device is all that we hoped it would be. The phablet is an upgrade to the Galaxy Note II and brings with it a few unique and interesting features. Here is a quick look at what you can expect the device to do for you, once you get your hands on it.

USB 3.0
The Samsung Galaxy Note III is the first device to boast of USB 3.0 capabilities and that is a big deal. To start with, USB 3.0 on the Note III will ensure faster data transfer speeds from your PC to the device (provided you have the USB 3.0 cable and a USB 3.0 port on your system). Another benefit of USB 3.0 is that you will be able to charge your device faster when it is connected to a PC or Mac. USB 3.0 is 80 percent faster than USB 2.0. There is a catch - to access the high-speed data transfer and charging, the Note III uses a USB 3.0 Micro B cable; the same found on quite a few USB 3.0 hard drives available in the market today. You do however have the option to connect the device via the traditional microUSB cable as well.

4K video in the palm of your hand
The Note III is the second device to boast of 4K video recording capabilities from the 13MP rear camera (the first device to support 4K video recoding is the Acer Liquid S2 smartphone). Sony has launched 4K capable TV’s in India and the upcoming PS4 also boasts of 4K support, so yes the device is future proof if you are one who like to shoot videos from your smartphone/phablet.

More power under the hood including 3GB RAM
Just like Samsung did with the S4, the Note III will be available with two chipset options in the market - Snapdragon 800 and the Exynos Octa-core SoC. If you pick up the Snapdragon 800 variant you will get a CPU clocked at 2.3GHz where as the Exynos Octa-core SoC has the CPU clocked at 1.9GHz. The RAM on both the variants will be 3GB, which is an upgrade from the 2GB found on the Note II. With a powerful processor and 3GB of RAM, you can expect to pull off some impressive multi-tasking on the smartphone, although we are reserving that judgment for when we get our hands on the Note III.

Bigger display, good for entertainment
If you are one who likes to consume multimedia on the go, then a large screen device is the one for you. The Note II has a 5.5-inch display with a 1280x760 pixel resolution. The Note III takes this a step further and shows off a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with a 1920x1080 pixel resolution giving the device a pixel density of 386 ppi, higher than the previous Note devices. The phablet also has stereo speakers if you are one who doesn’t like to plug-in headphones all the time.

Better build
If you are someone who refrained from picking up a Samsung device because you thought it was too plasticky in nature, you may want to take a look at the Galaxy Note III. Even though the front of the phablet has the traditional Samsung design, it is the back that has a leather finish giving it a premium feel. Samsung has also said that there will be a variety of back panel options for those that aren’t impressed with what’s available in the box.

Android KitKat COMING SOON

 

 

Google has surprised the tech world by announcing that the next version of Android, its mobile operating system, will be named KitKat -- in honor of the candy bar developers munched on while they were creating it.

"We couldn't imagine a better name for our Android K release than the tasty chocolate that's been a favorite among the team since the early days of Android," said Marc Vanlerberghe, Google's marketing director for Android.

The name keeps with a Google tradition, established in 2009, of naming versions of the industry-leading system after sweet treats. But it's the first time one of the nicknames has been a trademarked product and, as such, KitKat maker Nestle was needed to sign on.

The Swiss food and drink maker did -- and in a big way.

More than 50 million KitKat bars, specially branded with Google's green Android robot on their packaging, will be released, giving customers a chance to win prizes that include a Nexus 7 tablet and credits to the Google Play store. A small number of robot-shaped KitKats will also be shipped as surprises for customers.

The company also got in on the act with its KitKat website, which has been overhauled to look like the site of a tech company rolling out a sleek new piece of electronics. That includes an earnest promotional video that could easily be read as a swipe at Apple, Google's chief mobile rival.

"Every corner, every edge, every finger of every bar has been carefully considered and crafted to create a beautifully immersive and multisensory experience," Chris Caitlin, Kit Kat's "chief breaks officer" says earnestly over a swelling orchestral arrangement not unlike the ones Apple uses to build excitement for new products.

If there's any remaining doubt, the slogan "There's a KitKat for that" appears briefly on a tablet screen in the video.

John Lagerling, director of Android global partnerships, told the BBC that the Nestle deal is "not a money-changing-hands kind of deal," but was dreamed up by developers who kept KitKats, along with other snacks, in their break room while coding.

He said the Android team didn't even know which company owned KitKat and that he cold-called the switchboard of Nestle's advertising agency in November to float the idea. The next day he was on a conference call, and the deal was sealed 24 hours later.

To maintain the element of surprise -- an increasingly tough ask for big tech companies whose every move is scrutinized -- the Android team continued, even internally, calling the upcoming system "Key Lime Pie," which had been the presumed name for months.

Android has been developed by the company's engineers under dessert names ever since the release of Android Cupcake in 2009.

The other iterations have been named Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich and Jellybean.

Google is not the only tech company to name its products along a consistent theme. But Apple appears to have recently abandoned a similar practice with its Mac operating system -- OS X.

In a departure, Apple's next Mac operating system will not be named after a cat. Instead, the 10th iteration of OS X will be called Mavericks, named for a popular surfing spot in Northern California. Previous version names have included Mountain Lion, Snow Leopard, Tiger, Lion and Cheetah.

A joint statement from Google and Nestle did not give a release date for Android KitKat, although some observers expect it to be launched this fall.

 

Alcatel quietly unveils Idol X, Idol S and Idol Mini Android smartphones

 

Alcatel has introduced the One Touch Idol X, Idol S and One Touch Idol Mini smartphones. The devices have a compact design, large display screens, Android 4.2 OS and dual camera support. Alcatel has not revealed the price or the launch date of the devices yet.

The Alcatel One Touch Idol X smartphone has a 5-inch Full HD display with 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution and a 1.5GHz quad-core CPU paired with 2GB of RAM. The device has a 13.1-megapixel camera with autofocus, LED flash and HDR and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera with Full HD video capture. It is available in 8GB memory and 16GB variants. The Alcatel One Touch Idol S is available in Slate, Flash Red and Flash Yellow color variants.

The Alcatel Idol S has a large 4.7-inch display with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution. The Idol S is powered by a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor paired with 1 GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage expandable via MicroSD card support. The phone has an 8MP rear camera and a 1.3 MP front camera for video calling. Alcatel One Touch Idol S is available in Slate, Fresh Rose and Cherry Red color variants.

The Alcatel Idol Mini has a smaller 4.3-inch screen with 854 x 480-pixels display resolution. It has expandable memory up to 8GB, 512MB of RAM. It has a 5-megapixel rear camera and a VGA front camera for video calling. Alcatel One Touch Idol Mini is available in Slate, Silver and Cranberry Pink color variants.

On the connectivity front all the devices support Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, Micro USB, GPS and A-GPS support. The official launch date and price of the smartphones has not been revealed yet in spite of the detailed specs listing on the company's website.

SOURCE DIGIT.