Apple iPad 2 3G Teardown
03/12/2011 Apple began shipping the iPad 2 at 5 p.m. at its stores and other affiliated retailers nationwide on March 11. Apple's original announcement was vague, as Apple always seems to be, about what's under the hood of their newest device, and yet, the lines stretched and turned for block, with consumers desperate to be the first to have the iPad 2. Our crack teardown team at UBM TechInsights waited in line for 12 hours in Syracuse, NY! But the early results are in, and there were a few surprises. For example, the 3G radio represents yet another big win for Qualcomm. The 3G chip is the same one used in Motorola's Xoom tablet, and in the Verizon version of Apple's iPhone. That's pretty big props (not to mention volume). Another surprise: the iPad 2 touch screen controller is the older Broadcom BCM5974 -- Apple has been using a TI controller as of late, and customizing it with Apple markings. Enjoy some of the early results of our teardown, including the full comparison chart at the end -- it breaks down the parts and costs for the original iPad, the iPad 2 and Motorola's Xoom. The UBM TechInsights team will start dissecting the dual core A5 chip tomorrow to determine its origin; it will do the same with the audio codec (which the team suspects is from Sirrus Logic) and the power management unit (probably the Dialog D1815A). Special thanks to UBM TechInsights, especially Allan Yogasingam.
According to David Carey, UBM TechInsights VP of Technical Intelligence, the team speculated the iPad 2 would "borrow heavily from the Verizon iPhone 4 (and Motorola Xoom)" using Qualcomm's multi-mode-ready radio. And it did. The processor, Carey said, matches "the nVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor studied in the Motorola Xoom, so CPU costs are, we assume, comparable. We'll have a better understanding of the cost by looking at the A5's details to learn more."
Carey also added that past history will help uncover more iPad 2 details, especially regarding component costs. He said volume and standard platform usage will help keep costs competitive. "We will not know the full story until full-scale research of every component in the iPad 2 (which of course we’ll do), but given Apple's steady price-point for the iPad 2 versus its predecessor, we expect to see iPad 2 BOM cost estimates to align closely to those of the first generation iPad from its mid-2010 launch."
| Motorola Xoom (32GB 3G model) | Apple iPad (32GB 3G model) today's estimate | Apple iPad 2(32GB 3G model) | |
| Display | 10.1 inch capacitive multi-touch screen display 1280x800 pixel resolution -- 150 ppi $55 |
9.7-inch capacitive multi-touch screen display 1024x768 pixel resolution -- 132ppi $50 |
9.7-inch capacitive multi-touch screen display 1024x768 pixel resolution -- 132ppi $50 |
| Camera(s) | 5 MP Camera Module $10 |
No module in iPad | 1280x720p camera - ~1 MP 640x480 VGA (similar to iPod Touch) $4.50 |
| Main Processor | nVidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor 1.0 GHz $16 |
Apple A4 processor (manufactured by Samsung) 1.0 GHz $15 |
Apple A5 processor 1.0 GHz $15 - $20 |
| Radio Components | Qualcomm MDM6600 Broadcom BCM4329 Other ICs $23 |
Infineon PMB8878 Infineon PMB6952 Broadcom BCM4329 Other $22 |
Qualcomm MDM6600 Broadcom BCM4329 Other $25 |
| Flash memory | Toshiba THGBM2G8D8FBAIB NAND Flash $30 |
Samsung K9GBG08U0M NAND Flash $30 |
Samsung/Toshiba NAND Flash $30 |
| Sensors (non-image) | Kionix KXTF9 ST Microelectronics L3G4200D $2.50 |
ST Microelectronics LIS331DLH $1.00 |
6-axis motion can be from two possibilities: ST Microelectronics LIS331DLH + ST Microelectronics L3G4200D (similar to iPhone 4) $2.50 |
| Other | New features such as 25WH battery ~ $20-$25 Costs associated with thinner packaging, etc. |
||
| Estimated Total | $278 | $245 | $270 |
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