It appears Broadcom Corp. might have lost some coveted positions in the latest iPhone model.
The Irvine-based company isn’t listed in the design wins in a detailed 65-page report of the iPhone 6s teardown released by Canada-based Chipworks, although that may not tell the whole story.
Some device analysts believe Broadcom’s Wi-Fi chip, which has been carried in previous models, is included in the Wi-Fi module supplied by Universal Scientific Industrial for Apple Inc.’s latest smartphone.
Broadcom is tight-lipped about its ties with the Cupertino giant and rarely discloses design wins.
Even if the iPhone 6s carries one of Broadcom’s flagship offerings, it no longer carries its chip for touch functions. Analog Devices Inc. is instead supplying that component.
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus carried a Broadcom chip that provided touch functions.
Company watchers could get more clarity early next year when the company files its annual report and details its business with Apple.
Record sales of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus helped push Apple to the cusp of overtaking Samsung Electronics Co. as Broadcom’s largest customer last year.
The company accounted for 14%, or roughly $1.2 billion, of Broadcom’s $8.4 billion in sales. That was up from 13.3% in 2013. Samsung accounted for 14.2% of Broadcom’s revenue last year, down nearly 33% from 2013.
Broadcom’s $37 billion sale to Avago Technologies Ltd. is expected to close in the next few months. The Singapore-based company supplied a power amplifier chip—one of its specialties—in the latest Apple smartphone, according to the Chipworks report (see related story, page 3).
Unisplendour-WD Venture
China-based information technology provider and electronics manufacturer Unisplendour Corp. is kicking in $80.5 million in a joint venture with disk drive maker Western Digital Corp., according to media reports from Asia.
The new business will have registered capital of $158 million, which puts Irvine-based Western Digital’s 49% stake in the joint venture at $77.4 million.
The companies have said the latest agreement between them will put Western Digital in position to market and sell data center storage systems in China and to develop products in the key market.
Unisplendour recently paid $3.8 billion for a 15% stake in Western Digital, an investment that appears to have laid some groundwork in advance of the joint venture, which gives Western Digital inroads to capitalize on Unisplendour’s deep connections in the region and with the Chinese government.
Unisplendour, meanwhile, gains a link to Western Digital’s storage products—one of the most diverse lineups in the world.
Execs Called Leaders
Two OC executives were named to Computerworld’s 2016 Premier Technology Leaders list.
Alan Arnold, chief technology officer at Irvine-based data management software maker Vision Solutions Inc., and Glenn Coles, general manager and chief information officer for Yamaha Motor Corp. USA in Buena Park, were among the 100 influential technology executives recognized by the trade publication from companies such as StubHub, Bank of America, Verizon and AT&T.
Vision Solutions makes software that backs up data and keeps servers running during maintenance or in the case of a disaster. The company is OC’s 18th largest software maker, with an estimated 100 workers.
Sales are more than $100 million, according to a Business Journal estimate.
Cypress-based Yamaha Motor sells motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles, wave runners and boats, among other products.
