Samsung’s Galaxy S4 is more expensive to make than the previous Galaxy S III. Not too hard to believe. According to the latest teardown by IHS iSuppli they state that the total Bill of Materials (BOM) is about 15% higher than the GSIII, specifically noting that the Galaxy S4 16GB HSPA+ model costs $236 (USD) and the LTE-enabled model is $233. The Galaxy S III reportedly has a BOM of $204. Of course, iSuppli says that these are only estimates as the device has yet to be released.
Samsung appears to have invested in major upgrades to its smartphone’s display, sensors and application processor and supporting memory. The S4’s full-HD AMOLED display had the biggest cost increase of all, carrying an estimated cost of $75, up from $65 for the S3.
Sensors on the new phone, recognizing both temperature and gestures, also pushed the cost of the user interface and sensor subsystem up to $16 for the S4, from $12.70 for the S3.
The S4’s processor, made by Samsung itself, also made a significant jump from a year ago. The S3’s Exynos 4 Quad processor cost $17.50 while the Exynos 5 Octa (5410), the eight-core chip that IHS believes is in the S4, cost an estimated $30.
Another interesting nugget was that “Samsung accounts for at least $149 worth of component content in the HSPA+ version of the Galaxy S4, representing 63 percent of the total BOM, based on the results of the virtual teardown.”
If only smartphones retailed for what they actually cost to make!
[Forbes, iSuppli]
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