New iPad Costing Apple Around $310 To Manufacture
by Brent Dirks
March 9, 2012
While the new iPad is exactly one week from making its debut, firms are already beginning to examine how much the tablet is costing Apple to make.
Macgasm has a preliminary report from UBM TechInsights that pegs the cost of a new 16GB iPad with 4G at about $310. That allows Apple a 51 percent margin on the $629 price.
The margin has slipped somewhat from the iPad 2, which was 56 percent for a similar 16GB, 3G-equipped version.
The cost breakdown is also raw margin figures and doesn't include things like research and development, marketing, shipping and assembly.
Leading the way in cost increases is the new iPad's Retina display, which is $70 compared to the iPad 2's $49.50 screen. The A5X chip is $28, a $6 increase over the last generation's A5.
The 4G LTE/3G chip also costs $21, which is more than double the older, 3G chip.
And the battery, which is shooting up from 9,644 mAh (25Wh) to 11,666 mAh (42Wh), is also expected to account for some of the price increase.
Also, these prices are speculations, since Apple could have inked a better deal with the component makers. But it's interesting to see that even though Apple's cost to make the new iPad has gone up, the pricing structure remains (thankfully), allowing consumers to get their hands on the latest technology for a reasonable price.