Apple introduced the iPhone 15 Pro Max at a $100 price hike in the U.S., but that is not without reason, as the $1,199 is the first from the company’s lineup to feature a tetraprism 5x telephoto camera, along with other upgrades. Of course, all of these components cost the company a decent chunk of change, with the latest estimates revealing that this is Apple’s most expensive flagship to date, costing $558 to make.
A recent report published by Nikkei states that Apple’s entire iPhone 15 family costs between 8-16 percent more than what it cost to make the iPhone 14 range from last year. Unsurprisingly, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the costliest to produce, with its ‘Bill of Materials’ amounting to $558, making it 12 percent pricier to make than the iPhone 14 Pro Max, with a 47 percent parts-to-cost ratio.
The smallest difference compared to last year was from the iPhone 15 Pro, estimated to have cost Apple $523 to make, which is roughly 8 percent more expensive than the iPhone 14 Pro. The iPhone 15 Plus stands almost in the middle of the pack, with its ‘Bill of Materials’ estimated to be $442, making the amount 10 percent higher compared to the iPhone 14 Plus. To be fair, that is not a bad sum, considering that the iPhone 15 Plus lasts longer than any other model in a previously reported battery endurance test.
However, a small twist in this report is that the base iPhone 15 has the biggest cost difference compared to any iPhone 14 model from 2022. Nikkei estimates that the 6.1-inch model costs Apple $423 to make, making it 16 percent higher than the iPhone 14, which is strange to hear, especially considering that on paper, the iPhone 15 is regarded as an iterative update.
Additional details from the report mention that the tetraprism 5x telephoto lens on the iPhone 15 Pro Max costs Apple 380 percent more than the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s 3x optical zoom. It will also not be surprising to hear that the A17 Pro, the technology giant’s first 3nm SoC, and the LTPO OLED panel will be the costliest components in the entire bunch. Fortunately, with TSMC’s N3E reported to have better yields, perhaps the A18 chips arriving next year will cost less to mass produce, and if they do not, we will have all the details for you.
News Source: Nikkei
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