Andre Yoskowitz
28 Jun 2010 22:32
iSuppli has torn down the new iPhone 4, and found that the hardware costs as little as $187.51 to build.
The smartphone's most expensive component is the 3.5-inch LCD display, which was created by LG Display and costs $28.50 per device.
"Over the years, the iPhone has generally tended to hover in the $170-to -$180 cost range because Apple seems to be trying to hit some kind of budget," says Kevin Keller of iSuppli.
Keller notes that the tear down does not include R&D, labor, shipping, advertising and iOS development, which could add a significant amount to the total.
The A4 processor was created by Samsung and costs $10.75 per device. The gyroscope chip costs an estimated $2.60 per device and the accelerometer chip costs 65ยข.
It is unclear how much money Apple receives per device from AT&T, which in turn sells the device (with contract) for $199 or $299 depending on the amount of memory, but regardless it seems Apple is making a high profit margin on each device sold.