According to a dismantling survey of the iPhone 15 series by Nikkei and Fomalhaut Techno Solutions, the cost of components for each model has further increased compared to the previous generation, with the cost of components for the most high-end models hitting a new historical high for two consecutive years. Apple seems to have not immediately passed on the cost increase to consumers, but Nikkei News reports that iPhone prices are likely to rise further after 2024.
The selling point of the iPhone 15 Pro Max is its telephoto lens that supports 5x optical zoom and a 3-nanometer process chip. The total component cost is approximately $558, which is 12% higher than the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Previously, from 2018 to 2021, the Pro Max model hovered around the $400 to $450 range, but "measures that can easily improve performance have been exhausted by 2021," pointed out Fomalhaut President Hiro Namzhuang. "Further improvements can only be accompanied by increased costs
Therefore, the cost ratio obtained by dividing the component cost of the iPhone 15 Pro Max by the direct selling price reaches 47%, an increase of 1 percentage point compared to the 14 Pro Max.
According to the breakdown of components, the screen cost of the iPhone 15 Pro Max is 10% higher than the previous generation, the titanium frame cost is 43% higher, the A17 Pro chip is 27% more expensive than the A16 Bionic, and the price of the telephoto camera and its prism system is also 3.8 times higher than the previous generation.
It is worth mentioning that the demand for NAND flash memory was sluggish and prices fell before. The iPhone 15 Pro Max has cancelled the 128GB version and raised the lowest price of the model by $100 to $1199. This $1199 model is equipped with 256GB storage chips, twice the size of the iPhone 14 Pro Max, while the cost only increases by 5%. Apple stated at a press conference in September that if the storage capacity is the same, the price will also be the same as last year - emphasizing that there has been no price increase.
But the Nikkei pointed out that even if the capacity of NAND flash memory doubled, its cost did not differ significantly. It is believed that the decrease in iPhone storage chip prices has offset the cost increase of components such as telephoto lenses and chips.
The cost increase is not only for the Pro Max model, but also for the iPhone 15 components, which are 16% higher than the iPhone 14 components, reaching $423; The cost rate increased by 7 percentage points to 53%. The cost of iPhone 15 Plus components increased by 10% to $442; The iPhone 15 Pro increased by 8% to $523. The cost rates of these two models are 49% and 52% respectively, an increase of 4 percentage points compared to the previous generation.
Of course, not raising the price of the iPhone 15 series to retain consumers does not mean that Apple will continue to pursue this strategy, otherwise the company's profits will inevitably be affected. Fomalhaut President Bai Wei Nanzhuang predicts that "after 2024, except for the Pro Max, other models may increase their minimum prices". We will wait and see what the price of the iPhone 16 series, which will be launched a year later.