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AllThingsD reports on an iPad mini teardown from research firm IHS iSuppli estimating the component costs for Apple's new iPad mini at $188 for the 16 GB model.
The base model, a Wi-Fi-only 16 gigabyte iPad mini, which sells for a starting retail price of $329, costs about $188 to build. Adding additional memory -- the options are 32GB and 64GB -- adds only incremental cost but a fair amount of profit, amounting to an additional $90 for the 32GB version and $162 per unit on the 64GB model.
The report notes that approximately 43% of the device cost is related to the display, which adopts an expensive new process known as GF2 to reduce the part's thickness, although costs are expected to come down as the production process is refined.

ipad_mini_exploded_view.jpg
The bill of materials estimate provides support for Apple CEO Tim Cook's claim that the iPad mini has been priced aggressively with a profit margin significantly below the company's average. While the entry-level iPad mini is priced at $329 for a product that costs Apple $199 to build, the iPhone 5 costs Apple just $10 more to build but sells for $649. The iPad mini is, however, more in line with the full-size iPad, which IHS iSuppli estimated to carry a bill of materials of $306 for the entry-level third-generation model at its launch earlier this year.

Article Link: iPad Mini Component Costs Estimated to Begin at $188
 

bpcookson

macrumors 6502
Apr 6, 2012
484
90
MA
If it had a retina display, I'd pay $400 for baseline.
For now, no sale.

edit: Yes, I went and held it. Hogged one at the Apple store for a good 10 minutes.
 
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mr jnvii

macrumors member
Mar 11, 2011
82
0
Just can't help shaking my head at this.

edit: I totally get why they do this. Honestly, the iPad mini doesn't really surprise me. But the iPhone 5? Wow are they selling that for a profit...Would it really kill them to ease off just a little, you know?
 

notjustjay

macrumors 603
Sep 19, 2003
6,056
167
Canada, eh?
Before everyone starts crying "So why isn't Apple selling it for $199?" remember that these are prices for the components only and do not cover costs such as research, engineering, testing, labour, warehousing, etc, etc, etc.
 

crankmotion

macrumors newbie
May 30, 2012
6
0
329,- is a strange price

I'm sure Steve would have priced it 299,-. Just for the shock-and-awe feeling and a more attractive communication.
 

FooMan2011

macrumors member
Nov 2, 2012
43
0
You know, that makes me sick... With the huge amount of product they sell, does the profit margins really need to be so high? 47% profit alone on the 16gb model. And what are they doing with the billion dollars they're getting from Samsung?
 

Wokis

macrumors 6502a
Jul 3, 2012
931
1,276
Stockholm, Sweden
So production cost is 90 dollars for an extra 16GB flash memory? I paid the eq of 50 dollars for a class 10 (though 30MB/s read) microsd card capable of 64GB.. What's the deal with apple's flash memory for it to cost so much for them?
 

Surely

Guest
Oct 27, 2007
15,042
11
Los Angeles, CA
You know, that makes me sick... With the huge amount of product they sell, does the profit margins really need to be so high? And what are they doing with the billion dollars they're getting from Samsung?

You realize that this is just the cost of the COMPONENTS. It doesn't include R&D or any of their facility, salary, or assembly costs.


That being said, I wonder what the component cost would be with a retina display and an A6X.

That also being said, I love my mini, and think that $329 is a fair price.
 
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dagamer34

macrumors 65816
May 1, 2007
1,359
101
Houston, TX
So production cost is 90 dollars for an extra 16GB flash memory? I paid the eq of 50 dollars for a class 10 (though 30MB/s read) microsd card capable of 64GB.. What's the deal with apple's flash memory for it to cost so much for them?

It's where almost all companies make their profits. Why else do you think that the iPad doesn't have a microSD card slot?

I'm actually fine with what they charge, as I'm only getting the smallest memory configuration from now on.
 

Winni

macrumors 68040
Oct 15, 2008
3,207
1,196
Germany.
Before everyone starts crying "So why isn't Apple selling it for $199?" remember that these are prices for the components only and do not cover costs such as research, engineering, testing, labour, warehousing, etc, etc, etc.

And your point is?

Google and Amazon sell their tablets at these prices and probably with a loss because they expect to generate revenue through their content supply chain. That's a business model that is not alien to Apple; after all, they've also sold subsidized products in the past (like the original iPhone) and many of those billions that they have in the bank were made through the iTunes store and Apple's 30% tax on everything that's being sold in it.
 

TimUSCA

macrumors 6502a
Mar 17, 2006
701
1,539
Aiken, SC
Anyone who is freaking out about not having a retina display has likely not even held an iPad mini in person. The screen is actually pretty good. No, it isn't retina, but it's certainly better than the iPad 2 screen, which really wasn't bad either.

After using my mini through the weekend, I'm in love. It's fast, looks nice, and is perfect to hold. There's really nothing to hate about it, and the price is good. Is it $200? No. But Apple isn't in the business of selling your information to advertisers, so they actually have a profit to make. And if you've ever used a $200 tablet, you'd see why they're $200. You get what you pay for. And in this case, you pay a little extra for something that isn't laggy as hell with a severely limited app store.
 

Wokis

macrumors 6502a
Jul 3, 2012
931
1,276
Stockholm, Sweden
It's where almost all companies make their profits. Why else do you think that the iPad doesn't have a microSD card slot?

I'm actually fine with what they charge, as I'm only getting the smallest memory configuration from now on.

Note that i was talking about THEIR production cost. Seems to me they're not making as much profit on higher capacity models than what i've thought.
 

dagamer34

macrumors 65816
May 1, 2007
1,359
101
Houston, TX
You realize that this is just the cost of the COMPONENTS. It doesn't include R&D or any of their facility, salary, or assembly costs.


That being said, I wonder what the component cost would be with a retina display and an A6.

That also being said, I love my mini, and think that $329 is a fair price.

A6X, not A6. The A6 isn't meant to push a 2048x1536 display. Just remember that the iPad Mini is a smaller iPad 2 and the iPad Mini 2 will almost certainly be a smaller iPad 4. Any variation from that will be a real headache for developers because they'll have to do iPad 3-like adjustments where the GPU wasn't really enough to power the display at full resolution in games.
 
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