Parts Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

New iPad parts cost more than its predecessors

by Kelly Hodgkins (Mar 16th, 2012)

Hot on the heels of iFixit's wonderful tear down of the new iPad is a component analysis from the Wall Street Journal. According to their calculations, parts for the new iPad with 4G total US$309. That's about $30 more than the iPad 2 which costs $276.27 and the original iPad 3G which totals ...

Daily iPad App: Reckless Racing 2

by Mike Schramm (Feb 10th, 2012)

Gaming company Polarbit is the grandfather of iPhone racers. Raging Thunder was among the first racers to hit the iPhone. Reckless Racing was released soon after and now it's back as Reckless Racing 2. This is a full update to the isometric driving title. The gameplay is similar to other top-down ...

iPhone 4S 16 GB costs US$196 to build

by Kelly Hodgkins (Oct 21st, 2011)

Shortly after iFixit tore down the iPhone 4S, iSuppli also took its turn with the iPhone 4S and evaluated the cost of the materials that go into the handset. According to its analysis, the iPhone 4S 16 GB costs US$188 in materials and and extra $8 to build, a dollar value that's close to the ...

OmniVision, Avago reported iPhone 5 parts suppliers

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jun 7th, 2011)

A rumor from Digitimes suggests Apple is tapping OmniVision for CMOS image sensors and Avago Technologies for power amplifiers (PA) to be used in the iPhone 5. OmniVision will be the main supplier for 8-megapixel camera sensors, with Sony picking up any slack. Avago will supply two-thirds of the ...

Apple reportedly yet to order iPhone 5 parts

by Mike Schramm (Mar 28th, 2011)

If you're excited to buy the iPhone 5 this summer, you might want to relax a bit. Reports from China are saying that Apple hasn't even started securing the parts for a brand new version of the iPhone, which would mean that there's almost no way a new version could be released this year. ...

Foxconn parent company raising prices for Apple, others

by Mike Schramm (Oct 15th, 2010)

This is the downside of being Apple -- just as they get prices and costs to where they want them, those same prices and costs tend to go up again. Foxconn's parent company Hon Hai has reported that it will raise its manufacturing prices in China, directly affecting Apple's and other companies' costs ...

Rumor: Apple working on parts for iPad 2

by Mike Schramm (Sep 17th, 2010)

Here's a fun rumor to give you something to dream about this weekend. Digitimes is reporting that Apple is on the hunt for parts for the iPad 2. The company is reportedly in the validation stage with a few suppliers for touch-based displays and reinforced glass, prepping production on a second ...

New iPod touch has vibration motor (Update: No, it doesn't)

by Mike Schramm (Sep 8th, 2010)

FCC pictures of the brand new iPod touch's internal tech show that the device has a vibrating motor inside of it. According to Apple, the motor will be used with FaceTime, but presumably, it'll work when any app calls for vibration. That should help for gaming -- neither the DS nor the PSP has any ...

DIY Steadicam for the iPhone

by Mike Schramm (Jul 21st, 2010)

This is really awesome. While there are rumors that an iPhone 4 Steadicam is in production, Spencer Watson didn't wait -- as you can see above, he went ahead and built a Steadicam-type rig for his own iPhone out of some parts he had sitting around. As you can see from the video it takes, it works ...

iSuppli: iPhone 4 parts cost $187.51

by Mike Schramm (Jun 28th, 2010)

Update: As pointed out below, our original analysis here did not highlight the difference between the subsidized pricing (what consumers pay with a 2-year contract) and the much higher unsubsidized price (what carriers pay Apple for each phone). The unsubsidized price of the 16 GB iPhone 4 is not ...

Apple orders enough parts to make 3 million iPhone 4s per month

by Dave Caolo (Jun 11th, 2010)

According to DigiTimes, Apple has been ordering VGA lens kits (for use with the new front-facing camera on the iPhone 4) from supplier Asia Optical (AO) since May, to the tune 3 million (on average) per month. This is great news for AO, of course. If the current rate continues, they expect to get ...

"iPhone 4GS case" and parts video hit the Web

by Dave Caolo (Jun 3rd, 2010)

As if there could be something else we don't know about the forthcoming iPhone, website iPhone Portugal has posted video of what they claim to be the internal parts of a next-generation iPhone. Where'd it come from? Here's their CYA: "These parts were purchased in China by one of our readers ...

How to: Get your 1984 Mac running Snow Leopard

by Mike Schramm (Mar 8th, 2010)

Because of that, his instructions get a little technical (he actually replaced the innards rather than just trying to fit a Mac mini in there or something similarly easy). So this isn't a very good project for a first-timer for sure. But if you've got a little DIY experience, or just want to see ...

Next-gen iPhone to get a 5 megapixel camera?

by Mike Schramm (Dec 23rd, 2009)

I'm about due for an upgrade to my first generation iPhone, and a sweet camera would help seal the deal. That's the rumor going around (more or less unrelated to the other set of rumors we heard today, though I probably wouldn't turn down a higher-resolution iPhone with better camera included) ...

iSuppli estimates the iPhone 3GS costs $179 to make

by Mike Schramm (Jun 25th, 2009)

Did you know that after it is broken down into all of its composite metals and materials and parts, your human body is really only worth about $4.50? Yup, you're cheap in the broadest sense -- all of that oxygen, magnesium, iron, and sodium isn't actually worth all that much in the rare metals ...