iPhone 15 Pro Max Costs 8 Percent More to Make Than iPhone 14 Pro Max: Counterpoint

Apple introduced the iPhone 15 Pro Max priced at Rs. 1,59,900 (256GB) at its Far Out launch event in September. Significant upgrades like the Bionic A17 processor, titanium-based design, and a fresh telephoto camera are driving demand for the handset across the globe. A new report from industry analysis firm Counterpoint Research this week offers a look at how much it costs Apple to make the flagship handset. The in-depth analysis reveals that the total bill of materials (BoM) cost for producing the base variant of the iPhone 15 Pro Max is higher compared to last year's iPhone 14 Pro Max. The primary reasons for the increase are the new chip and the 5x telephoto camera.

A latest BoM analysis by Counterpoint reveals that Apple is making a good profit from the iPhone 15 Pro Max. As per the bill of materials report, the 8GB RAM + 256GB storage variant of the handset costs the company $37.7 more to make. This marks an 8 percent increase compared to the 6GB RAM + 256GB variant of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

The report breaks down the total cost part by part. Processor, camera and frames accounted for the biggest chunk of BoM. The A17 Bionic chip based on TSMC's advanced 3nm fabrication technology is $30 (roughly Rs. 240) more expensive than the iPhone 14 Pro Max's A16 Bionic SoC. Apple this year packed an all-new 5x Telephoto camera exclusively on iPhone 15 Pro Max and the total cost of the camera system is 34 percent costlier than that of the iPhone 14 Pro Max. The adoption of titanium alloy in the casing frame caused an 18 percent cost increase to that of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

BoM cost difference by function: iPhone 15 Pro Max vs iPhone 14 Pro Max
Photo Credit: Counterpoint Research's Smartphone Teardown and BoM Analysis

Prices for certain components have also gone down this year. Apple increased the RAM in the iPhone 15 Pro Max to 8GB, up from 6GB in the predecessor, but the downtrend in the global memory market favoured the Cupertio-based company. As a result of the decrease in both DRAM and NAND flash prices, the contribution of memory chips in the iPhone 15 Pro Max dropped by 34 percent compared to the iPhone 14 Pro Max. "Apart from Samsung Display, LG Display has also started supplying iPhone LTPO displays. This has contributed to a reduction in display costs by 4 percent in the iPhone 15 Pro Max compared to that of the iPhone 14 Pro Max" the report says.

Further, the report states that Apple's self-designed components such as the processor, the upgraded UWB, and power management ICs account for 25 percent of the total BoM cost of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, up from 22 percent in the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Price of the iPhone 15 Pro Max starts at Rs. 1,59,900. In the US, it starts at $1,199 (roughly Rs. 99,000). The iPhone 14 Pro Max debuted at a starting price tag of Rs. 1,39,900 in India and $1,099 (roughly Rs. 87,530) in the US.