The extra 0.8 inches of screen size offered by the iPhone 6 Plus compared to the iPhone 6 comes at a rather high price to consumers compared to the cost to Apple, according to a preliminary teardown of the new devices by analysts at IHS Technology.
According to the research company, the iPhone 6 Plus costs $100 extra in the U.S., for example, but for Apple the Plus devices cost only about $16 more to produce.
In detail, IHS Technology said the bill of materials (BOM) of the iPhone 6 equipped with 16 gigabytes of NAND flash memory amounts to $196.10. The cost of production rises to $200.10 when the $4.00 manufacturing expense is added.
The BOM of the iPhone 6 Plus amounts to $211.10, and rises to $215.60 with the additional $4.50 manufacturing cost added. This is only $15.50 higher than the total for the iPhone 6, IHS pointed out.
In the U.S. market, for example, a 16 GB version of the iPhone 6 with a contract is priced at $200, while the Plus model amounts to $300. The unsubsidised pricing for the two phones is $649 and $749, respectively.
In Europe, unsubsidised prices of the iPhone 6 Plus are typically €100 more than an iPhone 6. In the UK, prices on the Apple Store start at £539 for the iPhone 6 and at £619 for the iPhone 6 Plus.
"Apple has always been adept at offering higher-end iPhone models with enhanced, desirable feature--and then pricing those versions for maximum profitability," said Andrew Rassweiler, senior director, cost benchmarking services for IHS. "In the past, the premium versions of iPhone offered higher memory configurations for additional profit. While Apple continues this memory strategy, the company is also taking a similar approach with the iPhone Plus, structuring its pricing to add bottom-line profit on models that have a very desirable feature: a large phablet-sized display."
However, while the most obvious difference between the two new Apple smartphone models is the display, the extra cost of the larger screen does not account for the entire cost differential between the two phones; the Plus also carries higher BOMs for its enhanced camera and battery subsystems, noted IHS.
For more:
- read the IHS teardown
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