iPhone

So what’s the cost of an iPhone again?

The 8GB version of Apple’s runaway hit iPhone is retailing in the US for $599 (approx Rs 25,000 excluding connection and plans) while the 4GB version costs $499 (approx Rs 22,000). But how much does it cost Apple to manufacture these? In January, before iPhones were available for physical teardown, iSuppli estimated a $264.85 (approx Rs 11,500) hardware BoM and manufacturing cost for the 8Gbyte iPhone. Note that these costs do not include royalties and logistics expenses.

In terms of cost, iSuppli Corp.’s teardown analysis (full report) of the iPhone offered few surprises, with its Bill-of-Materials (BoM) closely conforming with our preliminary functional estimate issued in January. However, in terms of suppliers, the iPhone is packed with surprises, with newcomers Infineon Technologies AG, National Semiconductor Corp. and Balda providing key components in the product — along with established component makers like Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. - according to iSuppli’s Teardown Analysis service.

“iSuppli’s teardown, conducted this weekend, determined that the 8Gbyte version of the iPhone has a total hardware BoM and manufacturing cost of $265.83, generating a margin in excess of 55 percent on each 8Gbyte iPhone sold at the $599.00 retail price,” said Andrew Rassweiler, principal analyst for iSuppli.

iPhone Semiconductor Winners

Infineon, a new supplier to the iPod family, was among the biggest winners in terms of semiconductor content. The German semiconductor supplier contributed the digital baseband, radio-frequency transceiver and power-management devices, providing much of the core communications capability of the iPhone. Altogether, Infineon’s silicon content accounted for $15.25 worth of the iPhone’s BoM, representing 6.1 percent of the 8Gbyte version of the product’s total cost.

National’s contribution to the iPhone BoM is relatively small, with its lone chip in the product costing $1.50, which represents less than 1 percent of total product cost. However, the part-a serial display interface-represents an important design win for National, which has never had a part in an iPod.

One of the key features of the iPhone is the display, and the supplier for the display module in the model torn down by iSuppli was Balda of Germany in association with its partner TPK Holding of China. The module costs an estimated $27, representing 10.8 percent of the 8Gbyte model’s cost.

Photo: Thinksecret.com | Tags: Apple, iPhone, manufacturing cost, iSuppli

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