memory

The parts used build the base model of Apple’s iPhone 5 cost a combined $205 to acquire and assemble, according to an early teardown analysis by market research firm IHS.

The teardown analysis by the firm previously known as iSuppli is still ongoing this afternoon and not yet complete. But here’s what’s been found so far: Memory chips from Sandisk are in the phone, in a possible sign that Apple is curtailing its purchases from memory chip Samsung amid an acrimonious legal fight between them.

Another part previously supplied by Samsung in previous iPhones — the battery — appears to have been supplied by Sony. In both cases it’s likely that Apple is buying both memory and batteries from more than one supplier. This means that Samsung memory chips and batteries may still be found inside some iPhones and not others.

The iPhone 5 also contains a wireless processor from Qualcomm, touchscreen controller chips from Texas Instruments and Broadcom. STMicroelectronics maintained is role in supplying the gyroscope chip.

The parts used inside the iPhone 5 cost a combined $197 for the base model while the cost of assembly runs about $8 a unit. The iPhone sells for $199 to $399 with a two-year contract but without a subsidy-bearing contract sells for $649 for the base 16-gigabyte model.

The findings are more or less in line with with a preliminary cost estimate of $199 on the base 16-gigabyte model that IHS issued earlier this week. Known as a “virtual teardown,” it’s an educated guess at the manufacturing costs based on the iPhone 5′s documented specifications.

The cost estimates don’t take into account costs for other items, including software development, packaging, shipping or distribution.

It’s also fairly close to the cost estimate range of $188 to $207 that IHS issued last year on the iPhone 4S. Apple is selling the iPhone 5 for $199 for a 16-GB unit, $299 for 32 gigs, and $399 for 64 gigs.

In March the firm took apart the latest iPad and came up with a range of estimates for $309 for the base Wi-Fi-only model to $409 for higher end 64-gigabyte 4G-ready model.

IHS regularly conducts teardown studies of wireless phones and other consumer electronics devices in order to find out who a company’s suppliers are. Like most manufacturers, Apple prevents its suppliers from identifying themselves publicly much as they’d love to, so teardowns serve as confirmation of a relationship between a manufacturer and a supplier that is usually the subject of rumor and speculation.

The firm also estimates the combined cost of components — analysts check on the list prices of each part — to compile what is known in industry lingo as a bill-of-materials estimate or BOM that gives a fair idea how much a manufacturer, in this case Apple, makes in gross margin on each device sold. Apple doesn’t disclose its gross margin on a per-product basis but when it reported its quarterly results on July 24, it said its overall gross margin was 42.8 percent.

In this case the firm acquired five iPhones and disassembled them all. One thing the firm’s analysts were looking for was any variance in the identity of the memory supplier. Historically Samsung, the world’s largest supplier of flash memory chips, has been a significant supplier — one of many — to Apple across its mobile product lines.

The Apple-Samsung relationship has been complicated by the epic series of smart phone patent lawsuits between them. Apple won a key round in the US last month, winning a $1 billion judgment against Samsung in a federal court in San Jose, Calif.

Samsung still manufactures the A6 processor for Apple, continuing a relationship that dates back several years. Apple designs the chip. Early iPhone models contained processors designed and built by Samsung.

IHS has also recently taken apart Nokia’s Lumia 900 and estimated its build cost at $209. Meanwhile Google’s Nexus 7 tablet cost $152 to build.

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