It costs $285 to make a single Google Pixel XL unit, according to research company IHS Markit. It has officially tear down the Google-branded flagship in its base parts, with the bill of materials, or BOM, totaling to the said amount.
According to IHS Markit, the cost of manufacturing the Pixel XL closely matches the cost in manufacturing similar handsets like Samsung's Galaxy S7 edge and Apple's iPhone 7 Plus.
At $769 dollars, the Pixel XL's manufacturing cost to retail price ratio fits those of its direct competitors, like the previously mentioned flagships from Samsung and Apple.
"[T]he supply base and specs are very similar from phone to phone — whether it's an iPhone, a Galaxy-series phone or the Google Pixel XL," said Andrew Rassweiler, IHS Markit's senior director for cost benchmarking services.
For those who are surprised at the difference of the manufacturing cost and retail price, many factors weigh in on the added price point when a phone goes to retail. For one, Google has to make a profit with these phones and it needs to sell it at a gain.
Another reason would be research and development. It costs a sizable amount for manufacturers to research and design what would eventually be the finished product, and the retail cost must offset the money spent on R&D.
With this information, it's safe to infer that the Pixel XL is obviously targeting the same market as that of the iPhone 7 Plus and Galaxy S7 edge, mostly composed of top-tier high-income individuals who are willing to shell out a considerable bill to get the premium phones.
It makes sense that Google is targeting this market, as its flagships are outfitted with similar high-end specs in the higher range.
Google may have an advantage now that the market climate for smartphones was disrupted by many cases of Note 7 devices randomly exploding, resulting in a tremendously problematic juncture for Samsung, with it being forced to halt the production of the phones altogether and recall every single unit.
To refresh, Google's self-branded flagship, which by some measure is actually HTC's handiwork, rocks a 5.5-inch AMOLED QHD touchscreen display for the larger "XL" model. It's powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chipset with the Adreno 530 as its graphics processor.
The device, of course, is running the latest Android 7.1 Nougat software, but features a custom Android UI that houses a system-wide Google Assistant functionality. It has a 12.3-megapixel front-facing camera that can record 4K video at 30 fps and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera.
It comes with either 32 or 128 GB of internal storage with 4 GB RAM for either variants. You can get the phone for $769 on Google's own online store, Verizon or Best Buy.
