iPhone 4S features Qualcomm chip: iFixit

Apple Inc's fifth-generation iPhone uses a wireless chipset from Qualcomm Inc as well as silicon from smaller chipmakers, according to repair and parts specialist iFixit, which cracked the device open. The new iPhone also features the Apple A5 chip with 1 GHz dual-core processor, according to iFixit, known in the technology industry for stripping down and revealing the innards of Apple devices. The Qualcomm chipset is an upgrade from the one used in the previous version of the phone, iFixit said. Apple also incorporated flash memory from Toshiba Corp in the phone, it added. Some of the other chipmakers identified include Skyworks Solutions and Avago Technologies Inc, which has a power amplifier chip in the phone. Shares of Skyworks and Avago rose over 1 per cent and nearly 3 per cent, respectively, on the news. Shares of TriQuint, which makes radio chips for wireless communication, rose nearly 20 percent after an iFixit photo of the internal parts of the iPhone 4S appeared to show two chips with TriQuint's name on it. Apple is famous for designing sealed-up devices intended to discourage fans from poking around in them. The iPhone 4S will hit store shelves around the globe on Friday after a 15-month hiatus, and is expected to draw the usual throngs eager to grab a piece of the final gadget unveiled during Steve Jobs' lifetime. The fifth iteration of the iconic smartphone comes with a faster processor and a better and more light-sensitive camera, but otherwise is a spitting image of its predecessor. Tech experts say the real gems lie beneath the familiar sleek casing, especially in its "Siri" voice-activated digital assistant. Teardown firms are hired by an array of clients, their data used for competitive intelligence, in patent disputes or to keep current on industry benchmarks.