Gadgets
You'll Never Guess Who's On Apple's Supplier List
By Chris Ciaccia
Apple is the king of secrecy, and usually keeps its suppliers list close to the vest, although a series of audits has allowed the company to reveal its supplier list. And boy is it long. 156 companies long.
This is the first time Apple has ever done something like this, as it was prompted to do so after it found a number of environmental problems at plants in China.
There are some obvious names on the list, like Qualcomm, Foxconn, Pegatron, Nvidia, Samsung, Sony, but the glaring company that stands out to me is NXP Semiconductor.
NXP is a semiconductor company that is most closely associated with near field communications (NFC), which is something that Apple has shied away from, as the technology and movement have not really taken off like everyone expected it to. NFC technology allows customers to pay for devices with their phones instead of cash or a credit card, simply by tapping their phone to a reader. The phone is linked to the person's bank account and the transfer is made.
Having NXP on the list could be a sign that the iPhone 5, which most people assume started being produced in 2011, may finally have NFC capabilities. If it does, that could be the boon for NFC to finally take off and transform how people make payments.
Are there any companies you're surprised about seeing on the list or not?