Counterpoint Research today released a new report on the blended bill of materials (BoM) costs for Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro Max. The report reveals how much it costs Apple to make each iPhone, and shows that this year’s high-end model costs Apple 8% more than the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
iPhone 15 Pro Max costs $502 to make
The report details that Apple spends around $502 to make the base model iPhone 15 Pro Max with 256GB of storage. That’s $37.70 (or 8%) more than the BoM cost of the 256GB iPhone 14 Pro Max when it launched last year. For comparison, the BoM cost of the 14 Pro Max was only 3% more expensive than the 13 Pro Max.
So what exactly makes the iPhone 15 Pro Max more expensive than its predecessors? In a nutshell, the 3-nanometre A17 Pro chip, the new 5x optical zoom tetraprism lens and the titanium frame.
The A17 Pro is the first chip to be manufactured using 3-nanometre process technology, making it more powerful and energy efficient. TSMC was not expected to deliver the first 3-nanometre chips until 2024. However, Apple has struck an exclusive deal with the semiconductor company to get the new 3-nanometre chips for the iPhone 15 Pro this year.
However, this means the A17 Pro chip costs $30 more than the A16 Bionic used in the iPhone 14 Pro and now in the regular iPhone 15.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the only model in this year’s range to feature a new telephoto lens, which offers a 5x optical zoom using an advanced tetraprism system. As you might expect, it also costs a lot more than a regular telephoto lens. In fact, it costs $25.1 more than the zoom lens on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Replacing the stainless steel frame with a new titanium one also cost Apple more money. Counterpoint Research notes that the new titanium alloy costs $7 more than the previous one. At the same time, Apple has saved some money on RAM, NAND flash and the display, as these components have become cheaper this year.
The most profitable iPhone
Interestingly, despite the increase in production costs and the fact that it is the most expensive iPhone to make, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is still the most profitable model in this year’s range. It’s worth noting that Apple has decided to drop the 128GB version, bringing the starting price of the 256GB version down to $1,199.
The report also points out that Apple has reached a level of “significant control” over the design, scalability, costs and profits of its products that many other companies don’t have. One thing to bear in mind, however, is that the report doesn’t take into account R&D and shipping costs.
