Apple has been known to have fairly large profit margins on its devices. This seems also true in the case of iPad mini. According to a recent iPad mini teardown by IHS, the cost of building the 16GB version of the tablet is $188, whereas Apple sells it for $329.
Build price vs retail price:
It doesn’t come as a surprise that there is a vast difference between Apple’s actual costs for building iPad mini and the price at which the tablet has been made available. In the light of IHS’ teardown of the tablet, the real cost to build iPad mini’s 16GB version has turned out to be a mere $188. In comparison, Apple retails the tablet for $329.
Similarly, the 32 GB model’s build cost is not more than $205 whereas Apple currently offers it for $429. And finally, the 64 GB version is available for $529 when it actually costs Apple not more than $250 to build.
Component suppliers for iPad mini:
Apple relies on a number of other hardware vendors to furnish components for its devices. Samsung, for instance, has been traditionally supplying the chips for Apple’s iPhone devices. The IHS teardown takes a deeper look into the iPad mini tablet and reveals as to what chips are manufactured by which vendors.
The 7.9-inch display components, for instance, have been supplied by LG Display and AU Optronics. The touch components alone cost nearly $80. iFixit also recently stripped down the tablet to reveal the secrets of its components and found out that Samsung was still producing the A5 chips for Apple which went into iPad mini.
The flash memory for the tablet was furnished by Hynix Semiconductor and Elpida provided system memory. Interestingly, even after detailed inspection, it couldn’t be found out as to who has provided the camera for the tablet.
Courtesy: All Things D
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