Making an iPhone 5 Costs as Much as It Sells for, on Contract (U.S.)

Research firm IHS: iSuppli recently performed a teardown of the iPhone 5 to determine the total cost of the parts making up the elusive new-generation smartphone.

The bill of materials (BOM) in the 32GB version is $209.00, said IHS, which spells a total manufacturing cost of $230. The 16-gigabyte iPhone 5 costs $207 to manufacture, IHS said. The individual parts themselves cost only $197. In the United States, Apple sells the iPhone 5 for $199 with a two-year contract through AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint.

Andrew Rassweiler, senior principal analyst of teardown services for IHS, believes the iPhone 5 “exhibits a great deal of similarity to the iPhone 4S in terms of component suppliers.”

However, putting this “superficial” set of similarities aside, “there are some critical changes to product design and parts that enable major upgrades that improve user experience,” he said.

For more information, an analysis by MarketWatch regarding the estimated iPhone 5 bill of materials can be found here.