What They Say
Nikkei reports that Taiwanese suppliers have increased their share of components in the latest iPad Pro, at the expense of South Korean companies. A teardown with Fomalhaut Techno Solutions found that 20% of the components by value are from Taiwan. The firm estimted that the production cost is $510, up by 30% compared to the last version. South Korean parts represent 38.6% of the cost, down from 44%, while Taiwan went up from 1.7% to 18.5% fired by the cost of the backlight with LEDs from Ennostar. The backlight is estimated to have cost $90, almost 20% of the BOM cost.
The LCD comes from LG Display.
The analysis counted the M1 processor as being US-sourced (from Apple), although it is made by TSMC.
What We Think
LEDs and backlights, especially miniLED have been a key development area in Taiwan, as shown by the emphasis on the technology when I visited Touch Taiwan in 2019. (BR)
