iPhone 16 Pro Max Fetches a Hefty Price Tag in India: Here’s How Much It Costs to Make

The iPhone 16 series made its global debut last month, bringing four new smartphones to the fray - iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and the top-end iPhone 16 Pro Max. While the iPhone 16 Pro Max fetches a hefty price tag, you might be surprised by its total manufacturing cost or the bill of materials.

According to a report by market research firm TD Cowen via WCCF TECH, the total manufacturing cost (bill of materials) for the 256GB iPhone 16 Pro Max, which includes components, product assembly, and packaging, amounts to $485. This figure is significantly lower than the retail price of the device, representing just about one-third of the cost consumers pay.

iPhone 16 Pro Max vs iPhone 15 Pro Max: Bill of Materials

To recall, the iPhone 15 Pro Max's bill of materials costs $453, which is $32 less than its successor. The iPhone 16 Pro Max's camera system accounts for 16% of the total manufacturing cost of the device. To recall, the iPhone 15 Pro Max's rear camera system costs $70, which was about 15% of the phone's total manufacturing cost.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max does get an upgraded 48MP ultrawide camera, which might be the reason for the additional cost. Moreover, the A18 Pro chip also costs around $5 more than the A17 Pro SoC on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Additionally, the storage and RAM prices on the iPhone 16 Pro Max have also increased by $5.

The LTPO OLED display on the iPhone 16 Pro Max is slightly more expensive, coming in at $5 more than the screen on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. While Apple didn't highlight any improvements to the iPhone 16 Pro Max's display, it is taller (6.9-inch vs 6.7-inch) than the screen on its predecessor.

Surprisingly, the iPhone 16 Pro Max's larger battery doesn't fetch a higher price than the cell on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The extra camera button also adds on an extra $3, while other additional costs include the upgrade to Wi-Fi 7.

Manufacturing Cost of the iPhone 16

On the other hand, the vanilla iPhone 16's bill of materials is increased to $416 as compared to $395 over the iPhone 15, according to the report by Gizmochina. It is worth noting that the extra manufacturing costs of the iPhone 16 series hasn't translated to higher prices as the iPhone 16 line-up debuted as the same price as their predecessors.

It is worth noting that the manufacturing costs of smartphones doesn't take into accounts various taxes, advertisement and marketing, and labour costs. Apple Intelligence was another software-based selling points for the iPhone 16 series, although it remains to be seen if the AI-based service will be provided for free on compatible iPhones.