This morning, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo released his latest report on the iPhone 12 and AirPods, revealing more details about the iPhone 12 and AirPods 3.
According to the report, to reduce the negative impact of high-cost 5G on hardware business profits, Apple will increase its bargaining pressure on component manufacturers and save costs by lowering component specifications. Based on our comprehensive review of components, suppliers of iPhone battery PCBs and AirPods 2 PCBs will be the biggest losers.
Adopting 5G technology will significantly increase the cost of the iPhone 12. Among them, the cost of Sub-6 band and millimeter-wave technology is $75-85 and $125-135, respectively. However, to boost shipments, Apple will not significantly raise the price of the iPhone 12. Without compromising the user experience, Apple will actively reduce component specifications to lower costs.
The latest survey shows a significant decline in the specifications of battery circuit boards among iPhone components. The battery boards of the iPhone 12 have been reduced in both layers and area, so the average unit price is 40-50% lower than that of the iPhone 11.
The iPhone 12 series (the new iPhone in the second half of 2021) will abandon the soft-hard boards and switch to the soft board. It is expected that the average unit price of the iPhone 12 series battery boards will be 30-40% lower than that of the iPhone 11 battery boards.
The report indicates that when comparing the average unit prices of Apple’s existing hardware products in the first and second halves of 2020, the price change of the AirPods 2 hard and soft versions was the most significant. The new AirPods 3 will abandon the existing SMT design and instead adopt SiP packaging technology. This trend is unfavorable for the current suppliers of the AirPods 2 board. The average unit price of the AirPods 2 boards in the second half of 2020 fell by 25%-35% compared to the first half.