Of course, they have had to estimate and guess because the new device is set to arrive next month and for now no one, except maybe Steve Jobs, has touched a 3G iPhone.
However, taking into account the component prices, iSuppli did the math and it came up with a surprising Bill Of Materials.
According to iSuppli calculations, the Cupertino-based
company pays $173 for each 3G iPhone produced by
iSuppli noted that the most expensive component in the 3G iPhone is the 8G bytes of NAND flash memory storage which was evaluated at $22.80.
What is interesting is that the new version even if it include sGPS and 3G is cheaper than the original iPhone. It was also iSuppli who established last year that the BoM of the iPhone 1.0 was $226.
The research company went even further and explained that the wireless carriers will pay Apple a subsidy rate of approximately $300 per unit, which means Apple will in fact sell its 8GB version of the iPhone to carriers for $499 per unit. The announced retail price of the iPhone is $199.
However, although it seems like Apple will make a lot of money thanks to its reinvented device, my guess is that their real gain is the AppStore.
Let’s not forget that after all, Apple is not a traditional phone maker and it will be difficult to keep up with companies like Nokia or Samsung, which are able to unveil new phones almost every quarter.
But through AppStore, Apple can offer hundreds and even thousands of applications that could extend iPhone features. As announced, Apple will retain 30 percent from each application which means an important revenue stream for the company.
As iSuppli noted, next year iPhone will be even cheaper to produce, which means that Apple will lower the price again, while the software will maintain its prices.
On the other hand, looking at what happened with the iTunes and iPod, that can’t live one without another, Apple’s business model is clear.
In the next few years, we will surely see some new, improved versions of the iPhone, maybe with better camera or with a larger screen, but the real value will reside in the operating systems and applications
My opinion is that for Apple their AppStore is the real winner.