What They Say
Nikkei, in cooperation with Tokyo-based research specialist Fomalhaut Techno Solutions, stripped down an iPhone 12 and found that 26.8% of the value of the smartphone was accounted for by components from Korea, ahead of the share of US-made parts. The main reason for the high share was the use of OLEDs. The BOM cost was $406.
Compared with the iPhone 11, which featured an LCD display and went on sale last fall, the South Korean share jumped 9.1 percentage points, while the figure for U.S. parts dropped 3.9 points. Chinese parts were less than 5% of the value.
What We Think
Europe does better than I would have expected, at the same level as the US and well ahead of Japan. A significant part of the Japanese value came from the image sensor, supplied by Sony. (BR)
