14 DAY TRIAL // An iSuppli teardown analysis indicates that Apple’s new CDMA iPhone 4 includes significant changes in its design and component selection, despite having nearly the same functionality and a similar bill of materials (BOM) as its GSM counterpart.
iSuppli notes that the latest version of the iPhone 4 carries an estimated BOM of $171.35, down from $187.51 for the previous model.
The results are based on a preliminary pricing estimate issued in June, iSuppli said in a report.
The total production cost for the CDMA iPhone 4 amounts to $178.45, when manufacturing expenses are added, the research firm reported.
The most expensive component of the 16GB CDMA iPhone 4 is its memory, iSuppli said. The component costs an estimated $40.40 for NAND flash and SDRAM.
The second most expensive part us the Retina Display, estimated at $37.80.
The CDMA iPhone 4 sells for $199 subsidized with a two-year-contract from Verizon.
“With the CDMA iPhone 4, Apple Inc. has shown once again that it never recycles a product design,” said Andrew Rassweiler, senior director, teardown services, for IHS.
“Apple’s new designs always exhibit changes, evolution and optimization. This approach is evident not only in the antenna design but also in items like the integrated GPS functionality and the shrinking of the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo module.”
“As we dig deeper into our teardown analysis, we’re certain that we will find a host of other tweaks all designed to improve quality but keep costs on a steady path of decline,” Rassweiler said.
In its report, iSuppli provides a table with the preliminary estimate of the bill of materials and manufacturing costs of the CDMA iPhone 4, noting that the cost assessment is preliminary in nature.
iSupply specifically notes that the estimate accounts only for hardware costs and does not take into consideration other expenses such as software, licensing, royalties etc.