The iPhone 6s is out — and it's not cheap, at least not for consumers. Apple pays $234 in components for the 64 GB model that sells for $749 unlocked.
Each new Apple product is surrounded by a lot of hype and gets extensive media coverage, from reviews to experiments, bend/ drop/ crash tests, repairability teardowns, component costs and so on.
Apple unveiled its latest iPhones and iPads on September 9 and they will soon be available for purchase at premium prices, as expected. Every year, the new iPhone's cost is broken down into component costs, which reveals how much it costs Apple to make the device. This year is no different, and it seems the $749 iPhone 6s costs Apple just $234 in components.
This $234 component cost for the iPhone 6s is slightly higher than the $205.8 Apple paid for the iPhone 6 last year, as well as the $222.8 it paid for the larger iPhone 6 Plus. Then again, this year's iteration comes with considerable hardware upgrades, compared to its predecessor. Most notably, the iPhone 6s boasts a tougher aluminum alloy and a 3D Touch panel, among the highlights.
The component cost breakdown comes from Merrill Lynch, which is now part of Bank of America. As Business Insider first reported, Merrill Lynch revealed that semiconductor pieces account for most of that sum, costing $127 — which covers $36 for cellular radios, $25 for the 64-bit A9 processor, $22 for the range of sensors, including NFC, the fingerprint sensor and others, and $20 for 64 GB of flash storage. An additional $74 is required for core components such as the camera, screen and battery, while other things like the case amount to another $33. Adding up all of these costs, the components for the 64 GB iPhone 6s amount to a total of $234.
As Business Insider points out, however, this doesn't mean that Apple pockets the entire difference from $234 to the $749 selling price of the 64 GB iPhone 6s. The company also has to pay for manufacturing and distribution, so the actual profit is not $515 for each phone.
