Coping? What am I coping with? I'm just pointing out the random stabs in the dark you're taking with no data to back it up. I pulled BOM estimates from the most recent iPhone generation before the new ones. iPhone 16 is from September 2024. I repeat, a 20% lower BOM than the base iPhone 17 is incredibly unlikely.
As you can see, BOTH cameras in the base unit are estimated at <= 11% BOM. Let's be generous and say the missing camera is worth half that, 5.5% BOM. Where does the other 10-15% savings come from? Let's look at the other expensive components in the phone: not the display (Air more expensive), not the processor (Air more expensive). You're saying the C1X is saving apple 10-15% BOM vs the base model, yet the entire modem in the base model is 7%?
No sense.