Inside the price tag: Apple iPhone 16 Pro and Google Pixel 9 Pro production costs revealed
Ever wondered how much money Apple and Google spends on the iPhone and Pixel's hardware? A new report by Nikkei sheds light on the cost of manufacturing of these devices.
Google Pixel 9 Pro on the left, Apple iPhone 16 Pro on the right. (Express Photo)
In the last few years, flagship phones from both Apple and Google more and more expensive, to the point where most of them are now priced over Rs 1 lakh. While these companies attribute these price hikes to inflation and rising costs of manufacturing more powerful chips, a new report sheds light on the manufacturing costs of the iPhone 16 Pro (review) and the Pixel 9 Pro (review).
According to Nikkei, the bill of materials (BOM), which is the price of the parts that make up the phone for the Pixel 9 Pro is around $406 (approx. Rs 34,210) whereas the iPhone 16 Pro costs $568 (approx. Rs 47,860).
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The report also suggests that the Pixel 9 Pro’s BOM cost is 11 per cent lower compared to the Pixel 8 Pro, which is technically an unfair comparison since the Pixel 9 Pro has a smaller screen and battery. The Pixel 9 Pro’s Tensor G4 chip is said to cost $80 (Rs 6,800), whereas the Samsung M14 display and camera are priced at $75 (Rs 6,300) and $61 (Rs 5,100) respectively.
On the other hand, the iPhone 16 Pro’s BOM is a bit higher at 6 per cent than its predecessor – the iPhone 15 Pro. The report suggests that Apple spends $135 (Rs 11,400) for the A18 Pro chipset, while the screen and camera are estimated to cost $110 (Rs 9,300) and $91 (Rs 7,700) respectively.
While this may indicate that Apple and Google are selling their latest ‘Pro’ phones at almost double the manufacturing price, it should be noted that these approximations do not include costs associated with shipping, distribution, research and development, marketing and others, which contribute significantly to the final retail price.
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