The larger iPhone 6 Plus costs about $100 more than its new counterpart, the iPhone 6. But the iPhone 6 Plus only costs Apple an extra $15.50 to manufacture–according to Teardown.com and research by IHS (via Re/Code). So Apple makes a larger profit on the iPhone 6 Plus. Either way the profit margin is very comfortable 70-plus percent. Shareholders like CEO Tim Cook and those numbers, especially since Apple sold a combined 10 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus on the first weekend they became available.
Apple’s higher iPhone 6 Plus manufacturing costs are primarily due to its larger screen and larger battery. The larger screen costs Apple $51–about $9.50 more than the iPhone 6 screen. The bigger battery pushes Apple’s cost to $6 from the $3.50 for the regular iPhone 6. Teardown.com–which lives at techinsights.com–is a terrific resource for demystifying technology. If your inner geek is interested, Teardown discusses its methodology for tech and cost analysis here.
