Google is profiting quite a lot from Glass, according to a report from Teardown.com. Apparently, the search company is making a whopping $1420 from each Glass device sold, since the whole hardware only costs the company less than $80.
Teardown.com tore down Google Glass and analyzed the contents inside. The company came to the conclusion that every hardware parts inside cost $79.78 combined. This is quite surprising considering what the device is capable of doing in its current form. We find this very hard to believe, but there's not much we can say about the matter since we lack the experience.
According to Teardown.com, the display cost only $3; camera goes for $5.66, and the processor sits at $13.96 as the most expensive piece of the puzzle. In addition, the battery costs less than $2, and the 16GB drive inside cost just a meager $8.18.
Now, you might be wondering, why are these hardware components so cost effective? Well, for this to happen, Google would have to purchase them in bulk, and guessing this is the route the search company has taken since it plans to bring Glass to the masses this year and beyond.
In response to Teardown.com claims, a Google representative told the Wall Street Journal that its claims are wrong. This might be true, but wrong by how much? That's the big question that needs an answer.
While the hardware of Glass might not cost an arm and a leg, we cannot say the same thing about R&D costs. We suspect Google spent a lot in developing the software that is now being used in Glass, and the many prototypes that have been created before the company settles on the current design. All these unknowns could have factored in the $1500 price-tag, along with the fact that Google does not want to market Glass as a mass market product just yet.
Still, we cannot help but think that Google could at least shave a little bit off the cost of the device. No doubt the company can afford to, but this won't happen until the device is ready to escape the clutches of just being a device for developers and rich techies.
