After months of rumors about a hefty price increase, the iPhone 15 Pro Max didn’t really get one. Instead, Apple forced everyone to spend $100 more on the 256GB model by removing the 128GB option but kept the price at $1,199. Now we have a pretty good reason why.
According to an analysis by Counterpoint, the iPhone 15 Pro Max costs $37.70 more to build than the iPhone 14 Pro Max. The main reasons for the increase are the A17 Pro processor, new telephoto camera, and titanium casing. It breaks down like this:
- A17 Pro: $30 more
- 5X telephoto camera: $25 more
- Titanium casing: $7 more
- Memory: $17 less
- Display: $4 less
A $38 increase might not seem like much, but it’s about 8 percent higher than the iPhone 14 Pro Max. (By comparison, the bill of materials for the 14 Pro Max increased by less than 4 percent.) Multiply that by the number of iPhone 15 Pro Maxes Apple is expected to sell, and you’ve got a heck of a lot of money.
Counterpoint doesn’t mention storage in its assessment, so it presumably costs roughly the same as last year. We already know that NAND storage is a high-margin part, so Apple is presumably making more money on a 256GB model than a 128GB one. By dumping the 128GB model, Apple can increase the average selling price—and keep a lid on costs—while technically keeping prices the same.
Of course, the bill of materials is just one portion of the overall cost of an iPhone. There’s also research and development, production, shipping, and marketing, all of which are much more difficult to quantify than parts.
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