RF front-end module industry: Apple’s gambit

Yole SystemPlus analyzes the technology and costs of the changing radio frequency front-end modules integrated into Apple’s iPhone series from 2017 to 2021.

OUTLINE

• The RF FEM market is expected to reach about US$25 billion in 2027.
• Since 2020, we see the stabilization of RF share even with 5G integration, in the iPhone series.
• In the upcoming few years, in-house modem and RxTx could be expected from Apple, until then Qualcomm remains the only supplier.
• Apple relies on highly integrated US suppliers like Qorvo, Broadcom, or Skyworks, though each for a specific aspect of the design.

Yole SystemPlus?opens up hundreds of FEMs and components each year, to provide an overview of the RF FEM market for selected flagship smartphones.

The company, part of Yole Group, offers this year again, different volumes of technical and cost comparisons of smartphone RF FEMs. Every comparison report focusses on a specific subject. It can be a particular player’s evolution, a specific technology, or a comparison of flagship devices.

In its first 2022 volume,?RF Front-End Module Comparison 2022 – Vol. 1 – Focus on Apple, Yole SystemPlus provides insights into technology and cost data for FEMs and several components found in 18 smartphones from the Apple iPhone series since 2017. It features a comprehensive overview of the RF FEM architectures on the market, comparing available smartphones. Yole SystemPlus’ analysts reveals Apple’s dependency on specific component manufacturers, along with the different choices in the integration of communication technology, including mmWave signal support in the latest generation. Also, they reveal how the company maintains its leadership in the premium market. Indeed, Apple is not often the 1st mover on new technology, but once they go for it, they outperform the competition. This is what happened with 5G and with mmWave. To date, the iPhone’s RF front end is built to accommodate the most challenging cellular connectivity scenario. We can expect a similar strategy for next-generation technologies; for instance, satellite communication, for which the company chose a worldwide constellation. Apple is expected to offer state-of-the-art WiFi6E connectivity with cellular coexistence in mind.

Stéphane Elisabeth, Ph.D., Senior Technology and Cost Analyst at Yole SystemPlus, asserts: “Recent advances are highlighted with filters, including BAW[1] and IHP SAW[2] filter for 5G, and antenna tuners, with the penetration of pSemi into the bills of materials. Also, cost evaluation shows a slight increase in the total cost of the RF components while the number of components decreased compared to the 12th generation.”

During smartphone teardowns, the main RF modules and components are extracted and physically analyzed, from the output of the transceiver to the antenna. Packaging, sizes, and technologies are studied to generate a large panel of technical and economic choices and an overview of the market.

Every component has been analyzed to determine the manufacturing process cost.

Moreover, the report includes a technical and cost comparison of the modules. It also tries to explain the smartphone makers’ choices and supplier tendencies. All RF FEMs included in Yole SystemPlus’ reverse engineering & costing report are integrated, from baseband to antenna tuner, on 5G, 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS[3], and UWB[4].

Yole SystemPlus and its partner Yole Intelligence’s radio frequency teams invite you to follow the RF industry and the evolution of the technology on www.yolegroup.com.

In this regard, do not hesitate to read the full article Status of the 5G rollout, written by Cédric Malaquin, Team Lead Analyst, and Cyril Buey, Ph.D., Technology & Market Analyst, both in the RF team at Yole Intelligence.

Stay tuned!

[1] BAW: Bulk Acoustic Wave

[2] IHP SAW: Incredible High Performance Surface Acoustic Wave

[3] GPS: Global Positioning System

[4] UWB: Ultra-WideBand

Source: www.yolegroup.com