A La Carte: The Component Price Of Your New iPhone 4

If you had the parts, and wanted to build your iPhone 4, what would it cost you?

As little as US$187.51.  That's the estimate of iSuppli, a market research firm.  Compare this to the (AT&T contract-subsidized) prices of  US$199 and US$299 for the 16 GB and 32 GB models, respectively.

Here's how it breaks down: the 3.5" Retina LCD display — the single most expensive chunk of the i4 — would set you back $28.50.  By comparison, the Apple-designed, Samsung-built A4 processor runs around US$10.75.  STMicroelectronics, out of Geneva, Switzerland, provided the new gyroscope chip (estimated street price US$2.60), as well as the accelerometer chip in the 3G's (a measly US$0.65).   

By comparison, in 2009 the estimated component cost of the iPhone 3GS was around US$179, but has since dropped to around US$134 as component costs decreased.  Also, none of these estimates take into account costs associated with marketing, design, manufacturing, etc.

[Via BusinessWeek]