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First iPhone SE Teardown Reveals Mix of iPhone 5s, 6, and 6s Components

Wednesday March 30, 2016 4:50 pm PDT by Juli Clover
With the iPhone SE now available in several countries, the first teardown of the device has been conducted by Chipworks. As expected, the device uses a hodgepodge of components sourced from several past iPhones, including the iPhone 5, 6, and 6s, leading Chipworks to say "this is not your typical Apple release."
There are very few new parts, but that hardly means there is no innovation. As is the genius of Apple and its fearless leader, Mr. Cook, it is the combination of all the right parts that make a successful product. Finding that just-right balance of old and new, and at such a low cost, is no easy feat.
The processor inside the iPhone SE is indeed the same A9 processor found in the iPhone 6s, and the part in the iPhone SE Chipworks took apart was labeled with an APL1022 part number from a TSMC facility. It includes SK Hynix memory, which Chipworks says is likely the same 2GB LPDDR4 DRAM module found in the iPhone 6s.

applea9chip
The date codes might actually tell a story: the decapped application processor chip is dated 1535, Aug/Sep last year, so it was sitting in inventory for a while; the memory is 1549, last December; and presumably the whole package-on-package was assembled this year at the end of January.
The NFC chip is the NXP 66V10, the same used in the iPhone 6s, and the 6-axis sensor is from InvenSense and was also used in the iPhone 6s.

The Qualcom MDM9625M modem and the accompanying transceiver were originally found in the iPhone 6, and the Audio ICs, which Chipworks thinks were designed by Cirrus Logic, came from the iPhone 6s.

While many parts were originally from the iPhone 6 or 6s, the touch screen controller components (Broadcom BCM5976 and Texas Instruments 343S0645) were originally used in the iPhone 5s.

iphonesetouchscreencontroller
There are a few new components in the iPhone SE, including a "338S00170 device," which Chipworks says is "very likely a new Apple/Dialog power management IC," along with a Skyworks SKY77611 power amplifier module, a 16GB Toshiba NAND flash module, an EPCOS D5255 antenna switch module, and an AAC Technologies microphone.

Additional information about the iPhone SE will come out as Chipworks continues on with its teardown and as other companies like iFixit conduct their own device teardowns. The iPhone SE will be available in the United States starting tomorrow, March 31.

Tag: Chipworks
[ 160 comments ]


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Porco
40 months ago
Whilst I enjoy their early work and I admire their recent efforts, sometimes it's hard to argue with a greatest hits album.
Rating: 21 Votes
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Mr. Retrofire
40 months ago
Recycling is good for the environment! ;-)
Rating: 17 Votes
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macduke
40 months ago
Pretty interesting little device. I think Apple is going to sell a ton of these. I know I'll be getting one for my wife soon. For once my complaints finally paid off! Been rooting for this little guy for years.
Rating: 15 Votes
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sir1963nz
40 months ago

Sill annoyed that this phone doesn't have a barometer.


I was waiting for a bottle opener, something useful.
Rating: 13 Votes
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oldmacs
40 months ago

The SE would be a huge upgrade for you at a very nice price. It's the goofballs that want to go from a 4.7" 6S to a SE that I can't understand. The 6S is definitely a manageable phone for a average to large person. Even smaller women are rocking bigger phones than me and I'm twice their size.


This is why people are all different. I've heard plenty of people got sick of waiting for a new 4 inch phone so have upgraded but don't like the larger size. My father has had an iPhone 6 for work for about a year now I think and he still dislikes the size, compared to his personal 5. The 6S is not manageable for me, and I'm average. The SE will last as long as the 6S, has the same camera, and better battery life. Things that are missing may not matter to people. Tons of people found the 5S screen perfectly fine, don't take selfies and don't use 3D touch on their iPhones even though they have it.
Rating: 10 Votes
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AppleInTheMud
40 months ago

Sill annoyed that this phone doesn't have a barometer.


For what use ? It's just a gimmick.

......


I love the iPhone SE - finally a phone again that fits in the hand. I was all excited as the iPhone 6 came out. Got myself the plus... Rapidly changed that to a normal 6... Still to big. Now going back to 4" :-)
Rating: 8 Votes
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The Doctor11
40 months ago

For what use ? It's just a gimmick.

To track flights climbed. I love having this.
Rating: 8 Votes
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Mac 128
40 months ago

It's called lack of innovation or using up spare parts; take your pick.

Real innovation would have been a 4.3" iPhone 6S with smaller bezels that has the same foot print as a iPhone 5S while fixing the camera hump. Here we have Frankenstein iPhone. Your post is the reason why we will have a iPhone 6SS for 2016; people eating what Apple throws in front of them. Not saying that the SE is bad, only saying that Apple lost it's edge. It could have been a better device for around $550.


And why the hell would they spend the money to R&D a new iPhone 6 series design 6 months before the 6s becomes last years model?

How is it a Frankenstein phone? Nothing about its exterior appearance is freakish, it's still the same elegant design as it was created with, and the internals are all the latest iPhone components, with the exception of basically the screen which is an excellent screen to begin with, and already engineered for the device.

Add to that they managed to actually drop the price $250 over the only other phone to have most of these features, because they didn't re-engineer this from the ground up.

You're criticizing Apple for lack of innovation, when none was called for here. If Apple had released the SE for $549, then you could criticize all you want, but they didn't. This wasn't the 5c, which was the same phone crammed into a plastic shell and sold for the same price it would have been if they'd left it in a much more desirable metal case and bumped it down just like the 5s which followed. It was an updated 5s introduced at a price less than what the 5s was already selling for!

There will be a new 7 series 4" phone which will cost $200 more than the SE, which will be engineered from scratch. But trying to diminish what this SE represents for both Apple and the customer is pathetic.
Rating: 8 Votes
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citysnaps
40 months ago

It's called lack of innovation or using up spare parts; take your pick.

Real innovation would have been a 4.3" iPhone 6S with smaller bezels that has the same foot print as a iPhone 5S while fixing the camera hump. Here we have Frankenstein iPhone. Your post is the reason why we will have a iPhone 6SS for 2016; people eating what Apple throws in front of them. Not saying that the SE is bad, only saying that Apple lost it's edge. It could have been a better device for around $550.



Using up spare parts? I'm going to die laughing. Clearly you know nothing about modern high volume manufacturing.

Apple recognized customer demand for a smaller phone with the latest tech, higher performance, and at a lower price. Apple will sell a ton of these devices as a result. It's a nice complement to their larger devices which sold in record quantities when released.
Rating: 7 Votes
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AFDoc
40 months ago

Clearly you don't take exercise as seriously as other people might. ;)

People need a barometer to exercise "seriously"? Hmmmmmmm
Rating: 6 Votes

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