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Electronics Production |
iPhone 4: BOM of USD 187.51
The iPhone 4’s design may be radically different—but the strategy remains the same. The Bill of Materials (BOM) should continue to generate high profit margins for Apple, states market researcher iSuppli.
The 16Gbyte version of the iPhone 4 carries a BOM of USD 187.51, based on a preliminary cost estimate provided by iSuppli (see table below). The market researcher estimated the following BOM for the previous iPhone versions:
• 3GS in 2009 at $170.80
• 3G in 2008 at $166.31
• first iPhone in 2007 at $217.73
"The BOM of the fourth-generation model closely aligns with those of previous iPhones. With the iPhone maintaining its existing pricing, Apple will be able to maintain the prodigious margins that have allowed it to build up a colossal cash reserve—one whose size is exceeded only by Microsoft", said Kevin Keller, principal analyst, teardown services, for iSuppli.
Priciest components in iPhone 4
The LCD display represents the single most expensive component in the iPhone 4, costing USD 28.50 and accounting for 15.2% of the product’s total BOM. The market researcher believes that the most likely supplier is LG Display, followed by Toshiba Mobile Display.
Accounting for 14.4% of the total BOM cost—coming at a price of USD 27—is the NAND-type flash memory. In this particular case, the NAND flash was supplied by Samsung Electronics, which might not be the sole source.
Samsung also supplies the mobile Double Data Rate (DDR) SDRAM, with a price tag of USD 13.80 (or 7.4% of BOM).
The Baseband IC—supplier is German chip manufacturer Infineon—stands for 6.3% of the BOM (USD 11.72).
The A4 applications processor is manufactured by Samsung (Apple holds IP rights) and comes with a price of USD 10.75 (or 5.7%).
"The BOM of the fourth-generation model closely aligns with those of previous iPhones. With the iPhone maintaining its existing pricing, Apple will be able to maintain the prodigious margins that have allowed it to build up a colossal cash reserve—one whose size is exceeded only by Microsoft", said Kevin Keller, principal analyst, teardown services, for iSuppli.
Priciest components in iPhone 4
The LCD display represents the single most expensive component in the iPhone 4, costing USD 28.50 and accounting for 15.2% of the product’s total BOM. The market researcher believes that the most likely supplier is LG Display, followed by Toshiba Mobile Display.
Accounting for 14.4% of the total BOM cost—coming at a price of USD 27—is the NAND-type flash memory. In this particular case, the NAND flash was supplied by Samsung Electronics, which might not be the sole source.
Samsung also supplies the mobile Double Data Rate (DDR) SDRAM, with a price tag of USD 13.80 (or 7.4% of BOM).
The Baseband IC—supplier is German chip manufacturer Infineon—stands for 6.3% of the BOM (USD 11.72).
The A4 applications processor is manufactured by Samsung (Apple holds IP rights) and comes with a price of USD 10.75 (or 5.7%).
