According to famous analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple has made the decision to save money on certain components of future iPhone 12s to absorb part of the additional cost linked to 5G. Food would be the most affected part.
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It’s no secret, between the components and user licenses, 5G is very expensive. And depending on the frequencies supported, the technologies used and the final price of the terminal, the pain can quickly climb very high. So, according to Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple’s expert supply chain analyst, the introduction of 5G on the iPhone 12 generation is expected to come at a very high cost: the man talks about $ 75 to $ 85 per device for frequencies below 6 GHz and from $ 125 to $ 135 for millimeter frequencies (from 30 GHz).
In the past, Apple has often taken advantage of its high-end positioning to simply pass its costs on to the price of its iPhones. This policy, however, no longer seems to be the order of the day; According to Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple has negotiated particularly hard with its suppliers this year in order to lower costs. Obviously, the firm has undertaken to compensate as much as possible for the additional cost associated with the introduction of 5G, which could suggest that it does not want (or only slightly) increase its prices compared to its terminals launched in 2019.
According to the analyst, more or less every component of the iPhone 12 has been reviewed for savings, but it’s the battery area that has seen the most noticeable cuts. Compared to last year, the circuit (hybrid, partly hard and partly flexible) would have been simplified and lightened (fewer layers) to achieve a saving of 40 to 50% on the bill, while the space reserved for components of the battery itself would also have been reduced. Leaked certification documents on the web last month suggested that versions of the iPhone 12 could carry batteries around 10% smaller than the iPhone 11 generation, with the exception of the supposed iPhone 12 Pro Max, which could. embed a 3,687 mAh battery behind its 6.7-inch screen. Rumors are also circulating about Apple’s supposed decision to skip the power adapter and headphones with its iPhone 12s.
For now, all this remains of course uncertain and it will be necessary to wait for the presentation of the terminals by Apple – possibly in September for a outing in mid-autumn – before being perfectly affirmative. Ming-Chi Kuo nevertheless said he was quite sure of himself. The specialist indicates that Apple has already planned to push its simplification effort further in 2021 to further reduce costs by 30%. At the same time, the firm would also have revised the battery of its AirPods to include a module 25 to 35% cheaper in a third generation to be released in 2021.
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