Apple’s newest iPhone, the iPhone 5, is going to go on sale this Friday in America and in several major European and Asian countries. It has numerous new features, but what’s arguably most important is the screen. For the first time since the iPhone launched in 2007, the display is finally bigger than 3.5 inches diagonal. Now yes, 4 inches isn’t that much larger than 3.5 inches, but it’s still significant in today’s market when you consider that Samsung’s flagship device has a 4.8 inch display and Nokia’s upcoming Lumia 920 has a 4.5 inch display.
Ignoring specifications for a second, how much will the iPhone 5 actually cost in terms of components? To put it another way, how much money is Apple spending on the parts that make up their newest iPhone? According to research done by TechInsights, there’s roughly $167.50 worth of “stuff” inside the iPhone 5. That’s $35 more than the iPhone 4S and $55.50 more than the two year old iPhone 4. Some of you might argue that Apple is ripping people off when they charge $700 for their devices, but you have to remember that they have to pay people to build their phones, people to build their stores, people to work in those stores, and of course the Apple employees themselves.
The bigger question here is just what sort of deals is Apple getting on components that other companies don’t get because they’re not placing large enough orders? Apple, with all the money in their bank account, routinely goes to component makers and demands that they get everything their factores output for the next few months if they’re willing to accept one large lump sum payment. You can’t really do that if you’re HTC or Nokia and you ship less phones in a quarter than Apple does in a week or two.
Anyway, we just thought you’d find these bill of material figures interesting.