The Cost of Making the iPhone X

Starting at $999 in the United States, the iPhone X isn't exactly a bargain. In fact, it is the most expensive iPhone Apple has ever made and arguably the most pricey mass market phone you can buy these days. The question of whether or not the X's price tag is justified has been cause for lively discussions ever since it was first introduced in September. While some people argue that no phone should cost a thousand dollars or more, others point to the amount of technology the iPhone X packs. According to benchmarks, today's high-end smartphones are as powerful as many PCs, so why shouldn't they cost as much, some might argue.

So we know how much we have to pay for an iPhone X, but how much does it cost Apple to produce it? A lot less. According to estimates by IHS, the material costs of the new flagship iPhone (excluding other expenses such as R&D and marketing costs) amount to $370.25, making it by far the most expensive iPhone to-date. While such tear-down analyses do give us an idea of the components built into the iPhone, it is unclear how accurate the cost estimates really are. Apple CEO Tim Cook once stated with respect to such estimates that he had "never seen one that is anywhere close to being accurate".