Teardowns by iSuppli, Portelligent, iFixit, and iResQ have revealed much about the inner workings of the iPhone. As reported by BusinessWeek, Portelligent estimates the component cost for the phone to be in the $200-$220 range, with iSuppli’s estimate of $265.83 in cost for the 8GB model slightly higher. iResQ’s teardown offers a look at the interior of the iPhone, but it doesn’t offer details of components and their manufacturers.
iFixit did list some components, including Samsung ARM and memory, a Wolfson audio chip, a Marvell Wi-Fi chip, a Skyworks GSM/EDGE power amplifier, and more. Absent from their teardown was pricing information for the components, which both iSuppli and Portelligent provide.
iSuppli and Portelligent list German company Balda as the supplier for the phone’s touch-screen, with pricing estimated at $55-$60.
iSuppli claims that Samsung, with its memory, ARM chip, and DRAM, was the biggest winner among iPhone component suppliers, with an estimated $76.25, or 30.5 percent, of the product’s hardware costs. Although exact costs of the the components may never be known, and although these estimates don’t include promotion or logistic costs, it is apparent from these reports that Apple — and possibly AT&T — are seeing wide margins on the iPhone.