The metal and gadgetry that holds everything together in the iPhone 4 costs $187.51, roughly $20 more than the components of an iPhone 3GS.
Electronics research group iSuppli has dismantled the new version of the iPhone and valued everything inside, which comes at a surprisingly marginal increase over the $170.80 value of the iPhone 3GS innards.
According to iSuppli, the most expensive part of the iPhone 4 is its $28.50 LCD screen, while the Samsung processor itself only costs Apple about $10.75.
Of course, the price does not take into account the millions of research and development dollars and all the cost to market and distribute the device.
Even at the subsidized $199 price point, Apple’s making a profit for each phone sold, but given that AT&T throws in money on top of that, Apple “will be able to maintain the prodigious margins that have allowed it to build up a colossal cash reserve,” said iSuppli analyst Kevin Keller.
