Apple introduced the iPhone XS Max with a price tag of $1,099 for the basic version, $1,249 for the variant with 256 GB and the staggering $1,449 for the 512 GB one. According to TechInsights, the component cost of the big iPhone is estimated at $443, nearly $50 more than the iPhone X’s basic cost from last year.
Full graph of the iPhone XS Max component price
Looking at the graph, clearly the OLED panel is the most expensive component for a second year in a row. It is manufactured by the Korean competitor Samsung and we can only guess how much of the price is actual cost and how much is Samsung earning over every dollar Apple receives.
The cost of the screen increased just 5%, which can account to inflation, but not everyone would buy this argument. Of course, now the panel is bigger, since last year’s notched panel was 5.8” in diagonal, while the XS Max has a 6.3” display.
The second most expensive component is the processor/modem that went from $66 in the iPhone X to $72 in the iPhone XS Max, which is a 10% increase. Looking at the chart, almost everything is more expensive for Apple in 2018, with only the assembly materials and the RF antenna being cheaper than last year’s.
TechInsights explained the total price of $443 is the pricing of raw components and did not take into account other manufacturing expenses like R&D, software, logistics, and that sweet sweet marketing that makes so many people shell over $1,000 for a smartphone.
Some numbers in the graph were made with “some assumptions” since data is not yet available. Yet, such a picture does not paint the actual cost of creating a new smartphone, but really makes you think.
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