iPhone SE teardown reveals mix of 5s, 6, and 6s parts, including processor, memory, NFC chip, axis sensor, modem, Audio ICs, few new innovative components
Apple iPhone SE Teardown — The long-rumored, cost-friendly iPhone SE was finally announced on March 21st of this year.
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple launched the cost-friendly iPhone SE on March 21 at a $429 starting price, and Chipworks' teardown now explains how that price works: the phone is built from a mix of iPhone 5s, 6, and 6s parts — processor, memory, NFC chip, axis sensor, modem, and audio ICs — with only a few genuinely new components inside.
The finding lands alongside iFixit's discovery that the SE screen is interchangeable with the 5s, confirming the device is less a new design than a repackaged supply chain. It also sets the baseline for every later SE generation, including [[a:836682|Kuo's report that Apple restarted work on an iPhone SE 4 with an OLED screen and an Apple-designed 5G modem]].
First-order effects
- Repair shops and refurbishers gain a cheaper parts pool: shared 5s-era components and an interchangeable screen mean SE repairs can draw on existing inventory rather than new SKUs.
- Suppliers of the reused chips — the processor, memory, NFC, and modem silicon carried over from the 6s generation — get extended production runs on mature parts instead of tooling up new designs for a low-price tier.
Second-order effects
- Android vendors competing in the sub-$500 band now face a $429 iPhone running near-flagship 6s internals, pressuring their own bill-of-materials trade-offs at the entry tier.
- The reuse strategy signals to the component market that Apple will harvest proven silicon across generations, which shapes how suppliers price and plan capacity for parts destined for both flagship and budget lines.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, Apple's small-phone line becomes a standing outlet for prior-generation components — a structure visible again in the iPhone 7 teardown era's dual-sourcing and in the eventual plan for an Apple-designed modem in the SE 4 — making the SE the last stop in each chip's lifecycle before retirement.
The trend: Apple's budget iPhones are increasingly assembled from harvested flagship components, with each teardown documenting how far the recycling extends.