iPhone 15 Pro Max costs $502 to build; $37.7 higher than predecessor

The most powerful iPhone ever – the iPhone 15 Pro Max, offers a powerful portfolio of hardware including the A17 Pro Bionic SoC and the new telephoto cameras offering the best iPhone experience. Even after major differences between the latest and its predecessor, the former stands at $502 in total bill of materials as compared to its $1,199 price tag in the U.S. Let’s delve into more details.

iPhone 15 Pro Max costs $37.7 more to build than the 14 Pro Max

According to the global research firm Counterpoint Research (CR), the total bill of materials (BoM) for the iPhone 15 Pro Max stands at $502, a mere $37.7 (or 8%) higher BoM than the 256GB variant of the iPhone 14 Pro Max debuted last year with the same price tag of $1,199.

CR compared the BoM for 8GB+256GB iPhone 15 Pro Max and 6GB+256GB iPhone 14 Pro Max to conclude. Upon further analysis, we could see that the Apple A17 Pro Bionic chipset built on TSMC’s 3nm node takes a major share of a $30 hike in terms of BoM. the chipset brings 18% more transistors than a16 and 20% better performance along with 3D rat tracing, and improved gaming performance among others.

Another notable upgrade that contributed to the higher BoM is Apple’s first-ever 5X telephoto periscope camera. With different components sourced from suppliers such as Lante Optics, Cirrus Logic, and LG Innotek, the camera assembly is 34% costlier than the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s at $25.1 which includes the entire rear camera assembly, Face ID, front camera, and 3D ToF modules.

The titanium alloy frame onboard the iPhone 15 Pro Max added another $7 (or 18%) on the final BoM compared to the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s stainless steel. Overall, it made the iPhone 15 Pro Max more resilient to falls and scratches while making it 20g lighter which is a major win-win for all. Summing the upgrades adds a total of $63.1 on the BoM, however, thanks to the decline in memory markets, it results in $16.8 cheaper but better 8GB DRAM onboard 15 Pro Max as you can see in the graph above.

Key Takeaway

As one can tell, Apple has been exercising a greater level of control over various aspects including phone design. It has diversified its flagship lineup giving interested users better options to choose from such as the entire iPhone 15 series. Better chipset and improved performance with enhanced neural engines for AI offer Apple an edge over its competitors and not to forget the OS and apps ecosystem.

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