iPhone 15 to iPhone 15 Pro Max, here is how much they cost Apple to make

A new report reveals the amount it cost Apple to make each individual iPhone 15 series handset - iPhone 15 to iPhone 15 Pro Max. It also highlights that the iPhones have become more expensive to manufacture compared to the iPhone 14 series.

Know how much Apple had to spend to make every individual iPhone 15 series model. (Shaurya Tomer/HT Tech)

When the iPhone 15 series was announced, some were a little disappointed with the price hike of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which now starts at $1199 (in India, it starts from a whopping Rs. 159900). At the time, some reports from the supply chain side claimed that the price hike was likely because the manufacturing cost for Apple had increased which contributed to the overall price hike. Now, a new report has surfaced that has broken down the individual component price for each iPhone 15 series model and found out just how much it costs Apple to manufacture them. It turns out, Apple did pay a significantly higher amount for smartphones this year compared to last year's iPhone 14 series.

According to a report on the teardown between Fomalhaut Techno Solutions and Japanese news site Nikkei (via AppleInsider), the iPhone 15 series prices for each model, the standard iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max, witnessed a higher cost of making, with biggest hike seen for the Pro Max. Let us take a closer look.

iPhone 15 series component cost breakdown

According to the report, the standard iPhone 15 model cost Apple $423 to manufacture, while the iPhone 15 Plus cost $442 to make. In comparison, the smartphone started at $799 and $899 respectively. Moving to the Pro models, the bill of materials for the iPhone 15 Pro for Apple is $523, as opposed to its selling price of $999. Finally, the iPhone 15 Pro Max cost $558 to manufacture, and the company sold it at a starting price of $1199.

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These numbers are interesting as they show that the component cost itself is about half the price of an iPhone's selling price. This number is without adjusting for the labor cost of assembling, factory running costs, shipping and transportation costs, and more.

But what truly makes these numbers remarkable is when you compare them with the iPhone 14 series. We do know that this year, apart from the iPhone 15 Pro Max, none of the other smartphones have seen a price increase. But checking the predecessor's component cost, it is clear to see that Apple had to reduce its margins to make it possible.

As per the report, the iPhone 14 cost $364, the iPhone 14 Plus cost $401, the iPhone 14 Pro cost $484, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max cost $498. So, that means that the standard model iPhone 15 saw an increased component cost of 16 percent. The iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max saw an increase of 10 percent, 8 percent, and 12 percent respectively. In absolute numbers, however, the iPhone 15 Pro Max witnesses the biggest rise of $60.

In fact, compared to the component cost rise, the price of the iPhone 15 Pro Max did not reflect an equal jump, as the price was bumped only by 8 percent. On top of that, none of the other models saw any price hike, which shows Apple was able to mitigate the costs through other channels in order to keep the prices stable.