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See Every Single Part Inside an iPhone

Published

7 years ago

on

See Every Single Part Inside an iPhone

See Every Single Part Inside an iPhone

In the past, we’ve broken down the extraordinary raw materials in an iPhone 6s, but today’s infographic takes it a step further: it delves into each individual component inside an iPhone as well as where it comes from.

Unfortunately, the data is not for the latest and greatest iPhone 7, which was only introduced last week. That said, it is still interesting to dive into the components and the manufacturers that make the 6s work.

What’s inside an iPhone?

The infographic comes to us from SCMP, and in total it highlights 34 individual components in an iPhone 6s. These parts range from German accelerometers to camera modules from Sony in Japan. Parts come from a range of eight countries, which include the United States, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.

Many people will be likely surprised to learn that there are key pieces in the iPhone that come from Apple’s biggest competitor. At least some of the Apple A9 chips are manufactured by Samsung, but the South Korean company also produces display screens, mobile DRAM, and flash memory for Apple’s various devices. The ongoing relationship between the companies makes Apple the biggest external customer for Samsung’s components in the world.

Also interesting is that the manufacturing of physical pieces of bigger hardware (battery, screen, camera, etc.) tends to be dominated by Asian suppliers, while the technologies integrated with the printed circuit board mostly come from U.S. and European suppliers.

Technology for the iPhone 6s lithium-ion battery, for example, comes from three companies all in Asia. Two are based in China (Desay Battery Tech, and Sunwoda Electronics), while the other is located in Taiwan (Simple Technology).

Meanwhile, the following technologies from Texas Instruments in the United States integrate right into the printed circuit board: battery charger, power management, and the LED backlight Retina display driver. For another example, Bosch Sensortec out of Germany also provides two parts built into the circuit board: a barometer and an accelerometer.

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Technology

Nvidia Joins the Trillion Dollar Club

America’s biggest chipmaker Nvidia has joined the trillion dollar club as advancements in AI move at lightning speed.

Published

5 days ago

on

May 30, 2023

By

Nvidia Joins the Trillion Dollar Club

Chipmaker Nvidia is now worth nearly as much as Amazon.

America’s largest semiconductor company has vaulted past the $1 trillion market capitalization mark, a milestone reached by just a handful of companies including Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft. While many of these are household names, Nvidia has only recently gained widespread attention amid the AI boom.

The above graphic compares Nvidia to the seven companies that have reached the trillion dollar club.

Riding the AI Wave

Nvidia’s market cap has more than doubled in 2023 to over $1 trillion.

The company designs semiconductor chips that are made of silicon slices that contain specific patterns. Just like you flip an electrical switch by turning on a light at home, these chips have billions of switches that process complex information simultaneously.

Today, they are integral to many AI functions—from OpenAI’s ChatGPT to image generation. Here’s how Nvidia stands up against companies that have achieved the trillion dollar milestone:

Joined ClubMarket Cap
in trillions		Peak Market Cap
in trillions
AppleAug 2018$2.78$2.94
MicrosoftApr 2019$2.47$2.58
AramcoDec 2019$2.06$2.45
AlphabetJul 2020$1.58$1.98
AmazonApr 2020$1.25$1.88
MetaJun 2021$0.68$1.07
TeslaOct 2021$0.63$1.23
NvidiaMay 2023$1.02$1.02

Note: Market caps as of May 30th, 2023

After posting record sales, the company added $184 billion to its market value in one day. Only two other companies have exceeded this number: Amazon ($191 billion), and Apple ($191 billion).

As Nvidia’s market cap reaches new heights, many are wondering if its explosive growth will continue—or if the AI craze is merely temporary. There are cases to be made on both sides.

Bull Case Scenario

Big tech companies are racing to develop capabilities like OpenAI. These types of generative AI require vastly higher amounts of computing power, especially as they become more sophisticated.

Many tech giants, including Google and Microsoft use Nvidia chips to power their AI operations. Consider how Google plans to use generative AI in six products in the future. Each of these have over 2 billion users.

Nvidia has also launched new products days since its stratospheric rise, spanning from robotics to gaming. Leading the way is the A100, a powerful graphics processing unit (GPU) well-suited for machine learning. Additionally, it announced a new supercomputer platform that Google, Microsoft, and Meta are first in line for. Overall, 65,000 companies globally use the company’s chips for a wide range of functions.

Bear Case Scenario

While extreme investor optimism has launched Nvidia to record highs, how do some of its fundamental valuations stack up to other giants?

As the table below shows, its price to earnings (P/E) ratio is second-only to Amazon, at 214.4. This shows how much a shareholder pays compared to the earnings of a company. Here, the company’s share price is over 200 times its earnings on a per share basis.

P/E RatioNet Profit Margin (Annual)
Apple30.225.3%
Microsoft36.136.7%
Aramco13.526.4%
Alphabet28.221.2%
Amazon294.2-0.5%
Meta33.919.9%
Tesla59.015.4%
Nvidia214.416.19%

Consider how this looks for revenue of Nvidia compared to other big tech names:

For some, Nvidia’s valuation seems unrealistic even in spite of the prospects of AI. While Nvidia has $11 billion in projected revenue for the next quarter, it would still mean significantly higher multiples than its big tech peers. This suggests the company is overvalued at current prices.

Nvidia’s Growth: Will it Last?

This is not the first time Nvidia’s market cap has rocketed up.

During the crypto rally of 2021, its share price skyrocketed over 100% as demand for its GPUs increased. These specialist chips help mine cryptocurrency, and a jump in demand led to a shortage of chips at the time.

As cryptocurrencies lost their lustre, Nvidia’s share price sank over 46% the following year.

By comparison, AI advancements could have more transformative power. Big tech is rushing to partner with Nvidia, potentially reshaping everything from search to advertising.

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