Bosch to Supply Up to Half of Motion Sensors in Future iPhones

[MacRumors]

Bosch has won orders to supply Apple with some of the motion sensors in its next range of iPhones, according to a report by Bloomberg, potentially loosening Invensense's position as the primary supplier of the smartphone components.

California-based Invensense exclusively supplied the gyroscopes and accelerometers in the iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 7, but Apple's new deal with Bosch could see the German firm supply as much as half of the motion-sensing components in Apple's upcoming phones.

Bosch already supplies the barometric pressure sensors for the iPhone, but the deal could reflect Apple's aim to source components from at least two suppliers to make it easier to negotiate cheaper prices.

Invensense is currently seeking to complete a $1.3 billion sale to Tokyo-based TDK Corp, which had hoped to strengthen its business with Apple as part of the deal. "We aim to become a strong player in the sensor business with InvenSense as our perfect partner," TDK CEO Shigenao Ishiguro said in December, when the purchase agreement was first made. Shares in Invensense dipped more than 5 percent on Thursday's news.

Apple has a major iPhone redesign planned this year, with a glass body and edge-to-edge OLED display that includes an integrated Touch ID fingerprint sensor and front-facing camera. The new iPhone is expected to be sold alongside standard "S" cycle 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhones.

Article Link: Bosch to Supply Up to Half of Motion Sensors in Future iPhones

 

[venusboy]

Bosch = quality

 

[6836838]

Bish, bash, Bosch.

 

[BMcCoy]

European based company.. perhaps this contract and investment helps them offset their profits in the EU, before that tax judgment is affirmed.

Or am I too cynical?!

 

[Avieshek]

Bosh is a welcome name. Was fed up of Chinese-Chinese with Apple.

 

[Franshans]

Bosch = quality

..says the German.
They tried to rip off the US together with VW cause they were not able to meet modern emission standards and now wannabe-green Apple kind of rewards them..

 

[Glassed Silver]

European based company.. perhaps this contract and investment helps them offset their profits in the EU, before that tax judgment is affirmed.

Or am I too cynical?!

Really doubt this has anything to do with it.

They already buy parts from well more than just Asia, this addition almost resembles a rounding error and do expect more of these two-supplier strategy deals.

Doubt they'll pass on the savings though...

Glassed Silver:ios

 

[WaxedJacket]

So Bosch will be my accelerometer and my window wipers!

 

[WarHeadz]

Nice. I have a Bosch vacuum cleaner.

 

[FactVsOpinion]

Prefer German products over Chinese and you're all of the sudden racist. Weeeeee!

Exactly. smh
So apparently anybody referencing "German engineering," or a preference for "Indian cuisine" is racist.

 

[Aston441]

So Bosch will be my accelerometer and my window wipers!

Prefer German products over Chinese and you're all of the sudden racist. Weeeeee!

Having had plenty of German cars, I'll just say that while they handle nicely, reliability of the various bits that go into them, including the bits made by Bosch, is garbage. Bosch makes plenty of parts that go into American cars too, even Jeeps, which have lol lol lol reliability.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

..says the German.
They tried to rip off the US together with VW cause they were not able to meet modern emission standards and now wannabe-green Apple kind of rewards them..

Nope.

 

[69Mustang]

Nope.

Bosch may not have been in cahoots with VW but they were most definitely complicit. They even (allegedly) asked for indemnification from VW because they knew the defeat device could lead to legal troubles. VW said nope (in for a penny, in for a pound) and Bosch continued to develop the device for VW anyway.

 

[philippti]

..says the German.
They tried to rip off the US together with VW cause they were not able to meet modern emission standards and now wannabe-green Apple kind of rewards them..

They werd able to meet the standards just fine. There is not a single diesel car out there without Bosch components. Actually there is not a single car in the world that does not have Bosch components.
It's just that VW did not want to spend the extra money too reach the (pretty ridiculous low) emission standards. Because fuel consumption of these incriminated cars is still way better than most other cars on the market.
Don't confuse criminal behavior and incompetence.
[doublepost=1494031332][/doublepost]

Having had plenty of German cars, I'll just say that while they handle nicely, reliability of the various bits that go into them, including the bits made by Bosch, is garbage. Bosch makes plenty of parts that go into American cars too, even Jeeps, which have lol lol lol reliability.

Every car built on this planet has Bosch parts. No one makes a car without Bosch. They deliver the quality the customer is willing to pay for. AND German manufactures always use the latest and greatest in technology. Toyota always goes with components that have been proven and in the market for at least 5 years and are also a lot less complex. That's the main reason for superior reliability. Toyota also buys a whole lot of components from Bosch.
Actually Bosch, Continental and ZF are the three biggest automotive suppliers in the world and they are all German. No one builds a car without key components made in Germany. Not the Japanese, not the Koreans, not the Chinese, not the Americans, not the Italiens and not even the French. A Tesla is made up of mostly German parts (if you leave out the Battery Cells). They are assembled by German machines and robots .
Generalizing on the quality of German car components is pretty pointless.
Bosch is an outstanding company that employs more than 300.000 people around the world. It's also self owned and therefore does not need to care about shareholder value and wall street sharks.

 

[groovyd]

Used to use Bosch Accelerometers and pressure sensors in my embedded designs and they are top shelf components. One other advantage is they are both pin and protocol compatible with Invensense sensors.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

Bosh is a welcome name. Was fed up of Chinese-Chinese with Apple.

Not sure how China has anything to do with this. Invensense is based in San Jose.

 

[Aston441]

They werd able to meet the standards just fine. There is not a single diesel car out there without Bosch components. Actually there is not a single car in the world that does not have Bosch components.
It's just that VW did not want to spend the extra money too reach the (pretty ridiculous low) emission standards. Because fuel consumption of these incriminated cars is still way better than most other cars on the market.
Don't confuse criminal behavior and incompetence.
[doublepost=1494031332][/doublepost]
Every car built on this planet has Bosch parts. No one makes a car without Bosch. They deliver the quality the customer is willing to pay for. AND German manufactures always use the latest and greatest in technology. Toyota always goes with components that have been proven and in the market for at least 5 years and are also a lot less complex. That's the main reason for superior reliability. Toyota also buys a whole lot of components from Bosch.
Actually Bosch, Continental and ZF are the three biggest automotive suppliers in the world and they are all German. No one builds a car without key components made in Germany. Not the Japanese, not the Koreans, not the Chinese, not the Americans, not the Italiens and not even the French. A Tesla is made up of mostly German parts (if you leave out the Battery Cells). They are assembled by German machines and robots .
Generalizing on the quality of German car components is pretty pointless.
Bosch is an outstanding company that employs more than 300.000 people around the world. It's also self owned and therefore does not need to care about shareholder value and wall street sharks.

As a petrolhead I'm well aware of how Toyota (used to) achieve it's reliability in the past. Unfortunately the most recent crop of Toyotas have been slipping (severely) in the reliability department. Nevertheless, given the choice between Bosch part and a Panasonic part, in the same application, I'll still choose Panasonic every day of the week. German car culture, and their manufacturing culture in general, is concerned with PERFORMANCE. Reliability is always a secondary consideration at best, and often not a consideration at all. Go live in Germany for a few years and you'll see this is true.

 

[LiveM]

Bosch is welcome in my home.

I have mostly German brands in my toolshed and more Bosch than anything.

Meanwhile my Toyota is betraying its reputation for reliability - the main reason I bought it. I have a Mercedes engineer in my street so might follow his preference one day. (I also have an ex NASCAR engineeer in my street so must ask him what he thinks of Toyota).

 

[kdarling]

Not sure how China has anything to do with this. Invensense is based in San Jose.

And it's getting bought up by world famous TDK, which is headquartered in Tokyo. So still not Chinese.

 

[burne]

European based company.. perhaps this contract and investment helps them offset their profits in the EU, before that tax judgment is affirmed.

Or am I too cynical?!

Yes. The current top-of-the-line Bosch sensor sells for about four dollar a piece, if you buy a thousand. Half of 70 million phones would be one hundred million Euro. Peanuts for Apple, peanuts for Bosch (€73 billion revenue last year).

 

[justkj]

Bosch has won orders to supply Apple with some of the motion sensors in its next range of iPhones, according to a report by Bloomberg, potentially loosening Invensense's position as the primary supplier of the smartphone components.

California-based Invensense exclusively supplied the gyroscopes and accelerometers in the iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 7, but Apple's new deal with Bosch could see the German firm supply as much as half of the motion-sensing components in Apple's upcoming phones.

Bosch already supplies the barometric pressure sensors for the iPhone, but the deal could reflect Apple's aim to source components from at least two suppliers to make it easier to negotiate cheaper prices.

Invensense is currently seeking to complete a $1.3 billion sale to Tokyo-based TDK Corp, which had hoped to strengthen its business with Apple as part of the deal. "We aim to become a strong player in the sensor business with InvenSense as our perfect partner," TDK CEO Shigenao Ishiguro said in December, when the purchase agreement was first made. Shares in Invensense dipped more than 5 percent on Thursday's news.

Apple has a major iPhone redesign planned this year, with a glass body and edge-to-edge OLED display that includes an integrated Touch ID fingerprint sensor and front-facing camera. The new iPhone is expected to be sold alongside standard "S" cycle 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhones.

Article Link: Bosch to Supply Up to Half of Motion Sensors in Future iPhones

[doublepost=1494430399][/doublepost]My guess is Apple has not ever purchased other Bosch products like their dishwashers. The circuit board/electronics had to be replaced twice in 18 months, the first time was 3 month after purchase. The independent repairman said they only design the machines to last 2-3 year. But that works for him as Bosch was the lion share of his income because of that.

So will the iPhone offer free repairs when Bosch parts fail after 18 months?

 

[philippti]

As a petrolhead I'm well aware of how Toyota (used to) achieve it's reliability in the past. Unfortunately the most recent crop of Toyotas have been slipping (severely) in the reliability department. Nevertheless, given the choice between Bosch part and a Panasonic part, in the same application, I'll still choose Panasonic every day of the week. German car culture, and their manufacturing culture in general, is concerned with PERFORMANCE. Reliability is always a secondary consideration at best, and often not a consideration at all. Go live in Germany for a few years and you'll see this is true.

Funny enough, I am German and lived most of my life there. I also spent a total of three years in the US. I worked as a mechanical engineer in both countries for several years. I can assure you that both performance and reliability are equally of interest in Germany. And if you look how our houses are built and everything in them (windows, kitchens, bath room appliances) you will realize it is all much longer lasting than in most other countries, especially in the US.
If you look at cars (especially BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche) you are partially right. The customers of these cars expect cutting edge technology. And cutting edge technology is never simple and by definition also not proven (because it's new).
If you look at fit and finish of these cars (manufacturing quality) they also outperform everything. And if you maintain them right, they will also last long. However they do not like abuse or neglect. My dad always has 5 series BMWs. He usually puts about 200.000 miles on them in 6-7 years and does not have have any major issues.
The reason that toyota is now also less reliable is that they were forced to also incorporate more up to date and there for more complex electronics. It's not really a quality thing, it's just that time to market is constantly getting shorter and shorter which leaves less time for new technology to mature and less time for testing.
[doublepost=1494453194][/doublepost]

[doublepost=1494430399][/doublepost]My guess is Apple has not ever purchased other Bosch products like their dishwashers. The circuit board/electronics had to be replaced twice in 18 months, the first time was 3 month after purchase. The independent repairman said they only design the machines to last 2-3 year. But that works for him as Bosch was the lion share of his income because of that.
Bosch does not make them like they used to. In had one from the late 90s that i bought used with my flat mates in Uni. It still runs without a hiccup almost everyday.
Nowadays just get a Miele. Best washing machines and dish washers on the planet. that's a fact.

So will the iPhone offer free repairs when Bosch parts fail after 18 months?

 

[Aston441]

Funny enough, I am German and lived most of my life there. I also spent a total of three years in the US. I worked as a mechanical engineer in both countries for several years. I can assure you that both performance and reliability are equally of interest in Germany. And if you look how our houses are built and everything in them (windows, kitchens, bath room appliances) you will realize it is all much longer lasting than in most other countries, especially in the US.
If you look at cars (especially BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche) you are partially right. The customers of these cars expect cutting edge technology. And cutting edge technology is never simple and by definition also not proven (because it's new).
If you look at fit and finish of these cars (manufacturing quality) they also outperform everything. And if you maintain them right, they will also last long. However they do not like abuse or neglect. My dad always has 5 series BMWs. He usually puts about 200.000 miles on them in 6-7 years and does not have have any major issues.
The reason that toyota is now also less reliable is that they were forced to also incorporate more up to date and there for more complex electronics. It's not really a quality thing, it's just that time to market is constantly getting shorter and shorter which leaves less time for new technology to mature and less time for testing.
[doublepost=1494453194][/doublepost]

Thank you for your more firsthand insight! I think your assessment of what is happening at Toyota is at least partially correct, but I also believe that they have been simply taking customer loyalty for granted and letting accountants force too much cost cutting, which is starting to reach critical areas like suspension and steering, rendering many models dangerous in everyday driving.