Nikkei: The components of the iPhone 15 Pro Max cost 12% more than those of the 14 Pro Max

Recently, Nikkei Research carried out a teardown of all four models of the iPhone 15 series. It was meant to uncover the production costs of the smartphones. According to the information, the projected total cost of the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s components is $558, which is 12% more than that of the iPhone 14 Pro Max. For context, the standard iPhone 15 Pro Max’s US MSRP is $1,199 without tax.

One thing to notice here is that the report takes the baseline storage capacity devices: the 256GB of the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the 128GB of the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, and 15 Pro into account. Reportedly, except for NAND flash storage, the majority of components used with the iPhone 15 Pro Max are more highly-priced than the 14 Pro Max. Some of the components that contribute to increased prices include a tetraprism 5x zoom camera, a titanium frame, and A17 Pro chips.

The revised 5x telephoto module is expected to cost $30, a significant 280% increase over the 14 Pro Max’s 3x telephoto module. The titanium frame used on the iPhone 15 Pro Max costs $50. It is a 43% increase in contrast to the stainless steel frame used with the iPhone 14 Pro Max. The display of the Pro Max model costs $115, whereas the new A17 Pro chip costs $130, which accounts for 10% and 27% increases, respectively.

As far as the price increase of other members of the series is concerned, Nikkei points out that compared to the iPhone 14 Pro, the component prices for the iPhone 15 Pro are 8% higher, which costs $523. On the other hand, the iPhone 15 Plus ($442) and baseline iPhone 15 ($423) comprise 10% and 16% of expensive components, respectively.