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Ask Laz- How much does it really cost Apple to make an iPhone 6? ($167.50)(2014)
latimes ^ | 9 17 2014 | Laz

Posted on 07/05/2016 3:24:32 PM PDT by dennisw

The new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are very cool. But how much do the devices truly cost to manufacture?

A reader going by the initials P.C. has a question about the new iPhone 6.

"Could you please find out what it actually costs to manufacture the iPhone 6, compared to what we end up shelling out for it?"

So the question ultimately is how much profit are they making?

Best guess: Lots.

The entry-level, 16-gigabyte version of the iPhone 6 starts at $200 plus a two-year contract -- the same price as the iPhone 5s. The larger iPhone 6 Plus starts at $300 with a two-year contract.

But you're still paying for the phone over the life of much of your contract. What you really need to do is look at the cost of a contract-free, or "unlocked," iPhone.

T-Mobile lists the starting price of an unlocked iPhone 6 at $649. The starting price for an unlocked 6 Plus is $749.

That's some serious coin.

As for Apple's expenses, I'll turn to a 2012 report from the research firm UBM TechInsights. It looked at the cost of the made-in-China 16 GB iPhone 5's various components and concluded that Apple shelled out $167.50 to make each of the gadgets. Other reports I've seen place the manufacturing cost closer to $200.

So what's the answer to P.C.'s question? It's probably not far off the mark to figure that Apple is making at least $400 on every iPhone 6 sold.

My feeling about Apple's products is that they're expensive but high quality. You're paying a premium to be in bed with the company.

And, as with any relationship, as long as you go into it with your eyes open, you probably won't be disappointed.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; Hobbies
KEYWORDS:
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To: StAnDeliver

Cost per unit....
Now you’ve got me thinking.


21 posted on 07/05/2016 4:27:58 PM PDT by Zathras
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To: dennisw
Of course you don't see people asking how much the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge costs to manufacture. That sucker is $848.49 at CDW.

Comparing some no-name piece of crap phone running virus/hack prone An-crap operating system to the iPhone is akin to comparing a used Kia to a BMW.

22 posted on 07/05/2016 4:32:52 PM PDT by Crusher138 ("Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just")
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To: Bobalu

According to the soec sheet it is 2G or 3G. Lol. Good luck surfing with it...


23 posted on 07/05/2016 4:40:27 PM PDT by BullDog108 (A Smith & Wesson beats four aces!)
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To: BullDog108

Spec


24 posted on 07/05/2016 4:41:23 PM PDT by BullDog108 (A Smith & Wesson beats four aces!)
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To: Bobalu

**** If you want a great smartphone for a pittance then consider this.

http://www.dx.com/p/doogee-x6-quad-core-android-5-1-wcdma-bar-phone-w-5-5-ips-hd-xender-8gb-rom-8-0mp-gps-white-852420149#.V3w3NRKPvHw ****

I just paid $78.00 for a freaking Battery

This has potential


25 posted on 07/05/2016 4:42:43 PM PDT by TexasTransplant (Idiocracy used to just be a Movie... Live every day as your last...one day you will be right)
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To: dennisw; ~Kim4VRWC's~; 1234; 5thGenTexan; Abundy; Action-America; acoulterfan; AFreeBird; ...
How much does some no name dweeb claim it cost to make and sell a 16GB Apple iPhone 6 back in 2014? The LA Times article claims $167,50 or so, but ignores R&D, overhead, advertising, IP licensing, excise taxes, amortization of equipment Apple bought for their supply chain, down line warranty and repairs, service associated with each iPhone, and all other related economic costs.— PING!


What did each Apple iPhone 6 cost to make?
Ping!

The latest Apple/Mac/iOS Pings can be found by searching Keyword "ApplePingList" on FreeRepublic's Search.

If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me

26 posted on 07/05/2016 4:43:00 PM PDT by Swordmaker (This tag line is a Microsoft insult free zone... but if the insults to Mac users continue..)
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To: BullDog108

Mine is a phone ... Ocean is for Surfing


27 posted on 07/05/2016 4:43:51 PM PDT by TexasTransplant (Idiocracy used to just be a Movie... Live every day as your last...one day you will be right)
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To: PastorBooks

Not to mention the apparently “free” manufacturing equipment for all the components.


28 posted on 07/05/2016 4:44:32 PM PDT by Chipper (You can't kill an Obamazombie by destroying the brain...they didn't have one to begin with.)
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To: dennisw

Kind of skipping all the design costs, software costs, shipping costs, distribution costs, contract negotiating costs. Don’t get me wrong, we all know Apple has a hell of a markup, there’s a reason their profit margins are higher than the competition, but just looking at raw hardware costs is kind of BSing people.


29 posted on 07/05/2016 4:48:08 PM PDT by discostu (Joan Crawford has risen from the grave)
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To: Tijeras_Slim

LOL!!! Now that’s just damned funny...


30 posted on 07/05/2016 4:58:35 PM PDT by TomServo
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To: central_va
Suicidal Foxconn coolie bump.

Uh, the suicide rate at Foxconn was far lower than the suicide rate among American young people of the same age and gender demographics going to US Ivy League universities by almost eight times less. . . Even at the heighth of the most serious period in FoxConn's problem in 2010 when a total of 18 of FoxConn's workers committed suicide over a period of 18 months. That's 18 out of 750,000 workers spread over 27 manufacturing facilities in 12 cities. Six of those 18 suicides did occur in one plant over a period of about three months, but it was determined by outside, independent investigators that they were NOT related to working conditions. Instead three were related to emotional problems, two with a love triangle, and one to homesickness. Other suicides were related to Terry Gou, the CEO of FoxConn, providing the families of the suicides with compensation equivalent to 10 to 25 times the annual salaries of the dead worker.

When the psychologists from the outside organization pointed that such a huge payment was an incentive for workers to kill themselves because they thought they'd be worth more to their families dead than alive, Gou discontinued his humanitarian practice, deferring instead to the government's worker's compensation payments only, and the other suicides stopped. In 2013, when FoxConn's workforce had grown to 1,5 million, there were ZERO suicides among its employ

31 posted on 07/05/2016 5:00:56 PM PDT by Swordmaker (This tag line is a Microsoft insult free zone... but if the insults to Mac users continue..)
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To: Bobalu
If you want a great smartphone for a pittance then consider this.

No 4g. . . "2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz; 3G: WCDMA 850/1900/2100MHz"

32 posted on 07/05/2016 5:04:15 PM PDT by Swordmaker (This tag line is a Microsoft insult free zone... but if the insults to Mac users continue..)
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To: Twinkie
I don’t use cellphones. The “woo-woo” waves (EMP’s) fry brains AND they are like talking into an Oreo cookie.


33 posted on 07/05/2016 5:28:11 PM PDT by Flick Lives (TRIGGER WARNING - Posts may require application of sarcasm filter)
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To: humblegunner; Lazamataz

I absolutely thought this was about our Laz when I clicked on this one. :D


34 posted on 07/05/2016 5:59:06 PM PDT by rdl6989
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To: Twinkie
People who repair stuff like I do, can enter the model number and problem into Google and find a wealth of information regardless of how new or old the item might be. Many repairman (people) share on forums not unlike FreeRepublic that might be more topic limited, but you get the same good feeling about the folks you find there.

The free sharing of knowledge and experience is breathtaking and very powerful, but it's funny you mentioned the folks who just can't emerge into the real world.

Many people in foreign and uncomfortable environments will pretend to be talking on their phone for the security of being connected to someone else. I've actually done that myself. Security is important in dangerous areas and even if it's false, who's to know?

There's much to like and much to dislike about our world of smart cell phones. But it's the world we're in. Or at least some of us.

35 posted on 07/05/2016 6:16:22 PM PDT by WhoisAlanGreenspan?
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To: dennisw
"please find out what it actually costs to manufacture the iPhone 6, compared to what we end up shelling out for it?" So the question ultimately is how much profit are they making?"

I will start by saying that I am anti-Apple, and have been so for decades. I think Apple products are over priced, and under perform.

That said, the cost to manufacture one more of any mass produced product is almost totally unrelated to profit, and is usually almost trivial. The true costs include product development, marketing, customer support, manufacturing tooling, and other capital costs. It's simply not realistic to subtract the cost to make one more unit from the sales price, and call that "profit".

36 posted on 07/05/2016 6:20:26 PM PDT by norwaypinesavage (The Stone Age did not end because we ran out of stones)
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To: central_va
Suicidal Foxconn coolie bump.

Get out  those safety nets and trampolines!!!

37 posted on 07/05/2016 6:22:55 PM PDT by dennisw (The strong take from the weak, but the smart take from the strong)
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To: Zathras; Swordmaker

Yes, it will be.


38 posted on 07/05/2016 6:24:21 PM PDT by mad_as_he$$
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To: norwaypinesavage

It not just the software, administration etc. etc. You forgot to include the cost of the foam parties Apple hosts when developing new iPhones


39 posted on 07/05/2016 6:25:13 PM PDT by dennisw (The strong take from the weak, but the smart take from the strong)
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To: Bobalu

Thanks for your help with the LG Optimus from WalMart


40 posted on 07/05/2016 6:28:47 PM PDT by dennisw (The strong take from the weak, but the smart take from the strong)
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