iPhone X is a whole lot cheaper to make than it is to buy

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iPhone X
Each iPhone X costs Apple around $370 in component costs.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The new iPhone X may retail for over $1,000, but according to a teardown by engineers at IHS Markit, the 64GB model costs Apple in the vicinity of just $370.25.

That’s around $50 more than the previous most expensive iPhone, the 256GB iPhone 8 Plus. Understandably, what makes the biggest difference in terms of components are the TrueDepth sensor and the Super Retina OLED display.

IHS Market estimates that the TrueDepth sensor cluster costs Apple around $16.70, while the display module — which includes the cover glass, AMOLED panel and Force Touch sensor — sets Apple back around $110.

The teardown also highlights just how many companies contribute to the creation of the iPhone, as can be seen by looking at the below chart revealing where the various components come from, and their estimated price per item:

components
An estimate of the iPhone X’s component parts.
Photo: IHS Markit

It’s worth noting that these are only estimates for the iPhone X components, of course. For one thing, prices can change as either processes are refined (thereby increasing yield rates) or Apple increases its orders. The exact price per unit is also known only to Apple and the suppliers, for competitive reasons.

The biggest thing to take into account, however, is the fact that the total bill of materials cost doesn’t take into account the time and money Apple has spent on R&D for the handset. Given that Apple spends upwards of $10 billion per year on research and development, it’s a mistake to think that the new iPhone is simply the sum of its component parts.

Have you bought the iPhone X? Let us know in the comments below.

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