A new teardown reveals the individual component costs of the iPhone 12 Pro.
In a recent teardown of the newly launched iPhone 12 Pro, Nikkei, in cooperation with Tokyo-based research specialist Fomalhaut Techno Solutions, found that components made by South Korean companies account for almost 27 percent of the phone’s value, indicating a significant increase of 9.1 percent compared to last year.
Interestingly, the share of South Korean-made components is more than the total combined share of parts made in the United States.
The report reveals that the cost of a high-end iPhone 12 Pro is $406 USD and components from South Korea and the United States account for 26.8 percent and 21.9 percent by value, respectively.
The difference is due to the Cupertino company’s decision to adopt OLED screen panels for the new iPhone models, which are supplied by Samsung Display and LG Display, both from South Korea and leaders in the category.
The most expensive components of the iPhones are their Samsung-built OLED displays which are estimated at $70 USD per unit and Qualcomm X55 5G modem which goes for around $90. The production cost of the A14 Bionic chipset is said to cost $40 USD while other components like RAM ($12.80 per unit) and flash memory ($19.20 per unit) are among the more expensive parts. Sony’s camera sensors powering the new iPhones range between $7.40 USD and $7.90 per unit.
It’s important to note that the teardown mainly analyzed material costs. However, material costs are affected by the yield rate, and the actual cost could be different than this data. At the same time, Apple’s costs in R&D, operations, and promotion, as well as its investment in the industrial chain, are far from being reflected by these figures.
