S. Korean parts take up most parts in iPhone 12

Apple’s new iPhone 12 contains more components from South Korea than from any other countries in terms of the price.

The Nikkei reported on Saturday that, according to “Formalhaut Techno Solutions,” an IT device research company based in Tokyo, South Korean parts take up 27.3 percent of the estimated production of Apple’s latest smartphone, which is the highest. Components from the United States came in the second place at 25.6 percent, followed by those from Japan (13.2), Taiwan (12.1) and China (4.7).

For the previous iPhone 11 range, South Korea made up 18.2 percent, second only to the United States with 25.8 percent, and marginally ahead of Japan with 13.8 percent. However, with the latest model, South Korea has overtaken the United States, widening the gap with Japan. The share of South Korean parts rose by 9.1 percentage points, while the share of U.S. and Japanese components dropped by 0.2 percentage point and 0.6 percentage point, respectively.

The increase has been attributed to the new display. Apple has opted for OLED for iPhone 12 as opposed to LCD, which it has used for its previous ranges, and ordered new screens from Samsung that has the highest market share in OLED. An OLED panel is the most expensive part in iPhone 12 at about 70 dollars, which takes up approximately 20 percent of the production cost.


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