The new iPhone 6s Plus launched in early September has a total manufacturing cost of $236.
Apple launched its latest iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus on Sept. 9 and the handsets started shipping on Sept. 25. The handsets are packed with high-end hardware and both the smartphones have a premium price tag attached to them.
The iPhone 6s has a starting price of $649 and the base model of iPhone 6s Plus costs $749. Market research firm IHS Technology has conducted a teardown of the iPhone 6s Plus and suggests that it costs Apple just $236 to make one.
"The bill of materials (BOM) for an iPhone 6S Plus equipped with 16 gigabytes (GB) of NAND flash memory costs $231.50," per IHS Technology. "After basic manufacturing costs are added, Apple's total cost to manufacture the iPhone 6S Plus rises to $236."
IHS Technology found that Apple's latest 3D Touch display is the most expensive single component used in the iPhone 6s, which comes to $52.50. The A9 chip is the second most expensive component in the iPhone 6s Plus, as it is priced at $22. Apple's spending on the 2GB of RAM of the iPhone is $17 and the Qualcomm baseband processor comes at a price of $13. The rear and front camera modules of the iPhone 6s Plus costs $22.50.
The 16GB flash memory used in the 5.5-inch iPhone costs $5.50. IHS Technology also highlighted that Apple charges $100 extra on top of the base model for the 64GB model of the iPhone 6s Plus. However, Apple spends only $17 to make the 64GB version of the handset.
"This is part of Apple's ongoing strategy to improve profits by selling a product mix that is heavier in the higher-end iPhones," says the analysis.
The battery pack and the WLAN module used in the larger iPhone come at just $4.50 and $6 respectively. NFC controller, on-board audio hardware, compass, barometer and accelerometer/gyroscope combined have a cost of $18.
Apple spends a total of $42 for other components such as connectors, enclosures, circuit board and more. The assembly fee for the iPhone 6s Plus is also quite low at $4.50 per units.
The report lacked details about the iPhone 6s, but the company suggests that the manufacturing and assembly cost of smaller iPhone is just $211.50.
It should be noted that the above calculation does not include other costs such as research and development, marketing, salaries, logistics and more.
