AppleInsider Staff
A series of photos of a component that appears to be a logic board bound for Apple's next-generation iPhone appeared Friday, bearing a small chip — said to be an NFC controller from NXP — that professes to confirm the feature's presence in the so-called "iPhone 6." In addition, a new video of assembled parts seems to show a fully functional unit, though it won't boot past the "Connect to iTunes" screen.
The chip does not sport a manufacturer's name or mark. Instead, it bears only identification code "NSD425" alongside miscellaneous other numbers, likely batch identifiers, according to the photos published by blogger Sonny Dickson.
No such chip can be found among NXP's offerings, but Apple often works with silicon vendors to produce bespoke components. The Dutch firm was named late Thursday by the Financial Times as the supplier of Apple's NFC hardware.
Also present is a chip that seems to be Apple's "A8" processor. The package is noticeably smaller than its predecessor, the A7, allowing for a more tightly-packed logic board.
Other identifiable chips on the board are two Avago RF modules — Avago is a longtime supplier of such chips for Apple — and a Toshiba NAND module.
Separately, Feld & Volk posted a new video on Friday with a purported "iPhone 6" assembled from parts the company obtained. The video shows their attempts to turn on the device, being greeted with the "Connect to iTunes" screen and unable to boot further.
The screen shows Apple's current iTunes for OS X Mavericks logo, rather than the new red logo found in OS X Yosemite. If what the video shows is indeed legitimate, it would suggest that the hardware has an older version of iOS 8 installed, as the latest beta updated the "Connect to iTunes" screen to display the OS X Yosemite logo for the iTunes desktop suite.
Apple is expected to either confirm or deny all of the details on its forthcoming handset at a media event in Cupertino on Sept. 9. AppleInsider will be at the event and will bring live coverage from inside the theatre.
Wesley Hilliard
Malcolm Owen
Christine McKee
Andrew Orr
William Gallagher
102 Comments
That's a Samsung!
Uhhh... Worst. iPhone. Ever
That is one sexy piece of kit. I absolutely love the front of it. Slightly curved glass at the edges–all the way to the edges–and then the Home Button beginning to blend into the face.
And a good thing, too. It’d phone home and whoever this is would be arrested.
Seems odd that the representation of colors on the screen would be so different between the models. Maybe one just had its backlight turned down.
Speaking of Simpsons references, “Ralph” as in the kid who drinks paste? Take your FUD and shove it.
Hmmm. There's something about it that looks blob like.
You have short memory. This is still an Apple look, regardless if Samsung copied it.