The guys iSuppli are wonderful techno-vivisecters, capable of dismantling the latest Apple product with a few quick twists of the screwdriver and telling you how much all of the limbs and organs cost.
Predictably, they haven’t waited long to do just that with the iPad. So how much does that pretty 16GB iPad sitting on your lap right now cost Apple to make? Just $259.60.
The biggest chunk of that $259.60 comes from the touchscreen panel at $95. After that, flash storage accounts for $29.50 (16GB), $59 (32GB) and $118 (64GB).
When you keep in mind that the $259.60 doesn’t include anything besides component costs, I’m actually impressed by how respectable the margin here is: you simply can’t say you’re paying the Apple premium for the iPad. But soon enough, you probably will: iSuppli expects the number and complexity of the iPad’s components to decrease as Cupertino streamlines their build process, leading to greater profit per iPad sold overall. Can’t fault them for trying.
