How much does the current iPhone cost to produce? This question is asked every year - and every time the same mistake is made. Now let's take a closer look at the whole thing.
Today we're talking about an iPhone 11 Pro Max with 512 GB in midnight green - the estimate comes from the Tech Insights platform. In order to determine the approximate production costs, the device in question must of course be completely disassembled. The result in our case is around 490.50 US dollars. Many will now immediately think of the selling price and come to the conclusion that Apple's price increase of 66 percent is outrageous, after all, the iPhone 11 Pro Max with 512 GB costs around 1,449 US dollars. But we shouldn't jump to conclusions. The 490.50 US dollars only covers the pure material costs. According to Tech Insights, the triple camera should cost around 73.50 US dollars, while the display costs around 66.50 US dollars. The new A13 Bionic chip is estimated to cost 64 US dollars. In any case, the final assembly of the iPhone 11 Pro Max is expected to cost Apple around $490.50. But that's not all.
Buyers get more than just hardware
There are costs such as labor, development, marketing, shipping, and more. iPhone users also get access to some services that others don't offer. Aside from the 5GB of iCloud that is free to every user, everyone has access to iCloud syncing, a feature that we get for free and doesn't require an iCloud upgrade. Additionally, applications like Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, GarageBand, and more are also free.
Anyone who buys the latest iPhone can count on high-quality software support for at least five years, because Apple doesn't charge any extra for this either. So you shouldn't ignore the bigger picture - even if we don't know the exact costs. Anyone who buys an iPhone for 1,500 euros is definitely getting more than just 180 - 230 grams of hardware. (Photo by HalfPoint / Bigstockphoto)