“It costs Apple an estimated $236 to make and assemble its new iPhone 6s Plus, roughly one-third the $749 retail price of the smartphone, according to a teardown analysis by IHS Technology,” Dawn Chmielewski reports for Re/code. “Though IHS did not have time to conduct a similar teardown of the iPhone 6s, it estimates the cost of materials to be $211.50 — roughly $20 less than the bigger iPhone 6s Plus.”
“IHS Senior Research Director Andrew Rassweiler said the teardown analysis has limitations, because it doesn’t take into account myriad other costs — from shipping and warehousing, to research and development and marketing,” Chmielewski reports. “The latest iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are sturdier than their predecessors, featuring a more robust 7000 series aluminum enclosure, a more shatter-resistant Gorilla Glass 4 cover and gaskets that would appear to make the device more water-resistant (so it might survive a toilet or tub drop).”
“These upgrades suggest Apple is hardening the iPhone, so it will maintain its value longer — possibly in anticipation of the growing lease deals for smartphones that would create a robust secondary market for used devices,” Chmielewski reports. “Apple for the first time offered a financing program that allows consumers to pay a fixed, no-interest monthly fee for a new iPhone, which they can trade in a year later for the next-generation device. ‘They’re trying to make it tougher and longer-lasting to support this financing program,’ said Rassweiler.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Hardening iPhones so they last is a smart idea give the launch of Apple’s annual iPhone Upgrade Program.
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s iPhone 6s/Plus may be secretly waterproof – September 28, 2015
New iPhone 6s bend test reveals super-strong aluminum shell – August 19, 2015
Here we go again with this idiotic troll bait.
Those numbers makes sense. Given that Apple overall has margins around 40%, a 33% materials and labor cost fits right in with that.
My daughter will be getting a rose gold 64GB iP6S. That is once they are available for pick up in a store. We will be going for the new Apple deal and that requires an in store purchase.
BTW – just checked and I can’t even make a reservation at an Apple Store in California at the moment. This could take a while.
cannot wait to get my 6s this saturday
As usual, they didn’t prorate the cost to develop most of the components and software that runs it. It is not like you can buy this stuff off the shelf and build one.
I wouldn’t care if the materials cost them $1. I’m buying THE WHOLE THING… all its capabilities and the integrated system.
And as usual: ‘Parts and Assembly’ are only PART of the cost of any device. So don’t equate ‘Parts and Assembly’ with cost or value. There is a long list of cost and value factors ignored in this minimalist evaluation of devices. Make your own list please. I won’t be providing one.