Apple to use Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips in cheaper iPhone

Apple to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips in cheaper iPhone

According to Macotakara, Taiwanese chip maker Qualcomm has been taking orders from Apple to use its Snapdragon SoC in the much-rumoured, low-cost iPhone

iPhone 3GS - Main — The rumoured low-cost iPhone could well have a plastic body like the iPhone 3GS

Apple’s low-cost iPhone could be based around Qualcomm’s Snapdragon SoC, according to Japanese blog Macotakara. The rumour, which cites China Times as its source, also lists a number of other rumoured suppliers for the cheaper iPhone which Apple is expected to launch for emerging markets.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon system chip is already used in the HTC One, Nexus 4 and the Blackberry Z10, among others. The 400 and 800 series versions of Snapdragon include onboard communications technologies including cellular modem, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, making it the perfect candidate for such a move.

Elsewhere, Renesas Electronics is rumoured to be providing the low-cost iPhone’s LCD drivers and Toshiba, Elpida, Micron Technology, SK Hynix, and SanDisk are supposed to be providing the device’s NAND flash memory.

There’s no word yet on when the cheaper iPhone will launch or even if it’s in production, but analysts have pointed to an announcement alongside the iPhone 5S.