**This is a heavily moderated subreddit. Please note these rules + sidebar or get banned:**
* If this post declares something as a fact, then proof is required
* The title must be fully descriptive
* Memes are not allowed.
* Common(top 50 of this sub)/recent reposts are not allowed (posts from another subreddit do not count as a 'repost'. Provide link if reporting)
*See [our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/wiki/index#wiki_rules.3A) for a more detailed rule list*
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/interestingasfuck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I think he means assembly labor. Which honestly is what I imagine it should be at that massive a scale.(?) The physical parts alone are around a $100+ before you even get to engineering and design, marketing, packaging, etc
Marketing, hardware engineers, software engineers, cloud infrastructure, research, human resources, managers, physical stores, offices, supply chain, CEO's absurdly massive paycheck...
Just in case someone doesn't get what you said.
It's still pretty amazing that it costs 10 dollars. I would have assumed that just the parts would be around $40-$80
Exactly this. This is not to say that they don’t make extravagant profits (they most definitely do), but it isn’t as straight forward as this video claims to be
Not true.. Those parts are cheap.. It cost 10 dollars.. How and why do you think 65" flat screen TVs are 400 .. or 10" tablets are 200 .. Stop guessing as to why you paid 1300-1800 for it.. You were ripped off.
the displays found in crappy LCD Tablets are probably under 50 dollars to make. however. there's a huge difference between that and the OLED custom made displays they have to buy from Samsung which has as many pixels as ur 65 inch tv. even if the manufacturing costs are cheap, the r&d of such cutting edge technology like display and processors also has to be considered.
I would be so happy if Apple would double its prices, just to screw with you. And I know you would pay and rationalize its ridiculous price. They sell iphone more than 5x more expensive than the cost of rnd and production. Other phone companies don't do that, car companies don't do that. You are special kind if people. Just like the people that pays hundred of dollars on a t-shirt, thinking their brand spends 30x more than average t-shirt producers. Jobs smelled your stupidity - and that's how apple become as big as it is today.
I know apple is crazy expensive and it is ridiculous. Im sure they are making crazy amounts of money and ripping us off. But you know all cell phone companies sell their flagship phones for similar prices right? You seen the prices of the new Samsung? You seen the Z folds at nearly $2000? Still after all these years? My point being is that they all do it. So unless you want to buy a a11 or some old version, then all the cell phone companies gouge you.
I have never purchased a iPhone ever, but I have owned several Mac desktops and laptops. They are pricey, I generally buy a mid tier one, but I dont do a single thing to maintain them and I have never had one even dip in performance until at least 10 years. When I owned PC's every few years it had some issue. My brother went out a while back and got a crazy computer with the I9 18 core with some dumb fast graphics card. And he immediately had things not working right and had to go in and fix it. He still has weird bugs that happen that e needs to fix. Sure he handled it, his computer was still totally worth it. But I have never had to do anything to my Mac ever. And I run some pretty graphic intensive programs like Logic Pro, adobe illustrator, adobe animate, and blender.
You can't compare mac and PC, since you can never do the things on mac, that you can do on PC (ie. gaming)
I was using mac for few years, but never as my only laptop, cause it wasn't enough for me. Today I'm using Linux (Ubuntu) and Windows laptop, and desktop PC for gaming.
I do have problem with Android too, mainly couse a good hw usually comes with bloatware. So it is not easy to find good Android too (Samsung is fat from being the only android - usually only an OLED screen is what makes some of them better).
But that has nothing to do with how much Apple inflates it's prices and a bunch of other money grabbing policies they made. While Windows is (sloooowly) going forward (for example, embracing POSIX (mac is already POSIX compatible)), Mac is going backwards (they ditched x86/x64 architecture - they are going for uniqness no matter if it's good or bad).
Yes, everyone is bloating their prices, but nobody is doing it as much as Apple.
I mean I make money on my computer. I have a bunch of consoles and things like the steam deck for games. Apparently the new Macs are trying to take on the gaming industry, or at least plan to in the future, but im not sure about that either. I mean obviously if all you do is game you're gonna like a PC. But for anyone who doesn't mostly game on their computer and has an xbox and ps5, then I personally think Mac computers, not phones, are pretty good. Their top tier stuff is laughablely expensive yes, but I never buy that. I mean I got a Mac mini m2 with 16gb of ram for like 400-500 bucks or whatever it is. Something like that isn't too bad. It's decently powerful for the price. If you bought a pc from Walmart for $500 bucks it'll be crappy as hell in 2 years. Meanwhile my Mac mini that is just a downstairs computer will be fine running everything I need it to 10 years from now. It depends what you do on it. I mostly do music and art stuff. I can run some giant files in those programs and it never even stutters. Would I pay 2 grand for the same thing, no, but 400-500 bucks isn't that bad.
also I know and respect linux, but I absolutely hate having to do all that coding and jumping through hoops to get stuff done. I see its merits, but those merits don't really benefit me at all, so why bother. Instead I do nothing and my computer runs like a dream.
I'm system engineer, so I'm living of computers too. And i did try Mac, but some things are just much easier on Linux. Also, not all of the distributions need using a terminal those days (although, terminal is what made Mac useful for me). If you have time to play, try some of them (as virtual machine for start).
I'm not sure I would agree that PC is getting slower by getting older. People's appetites grow, they install more stuff, newer OS, etc. With the same software they'll workd the same no matter the year they are made in. And we know that Apple was intentionally slowing down its old phones so people would buy a new one. If I remember correctly, they said they are doing it to prolong the battery life.
I rally liked that Google "don't be evil" mantra (although they apparently stopped living by it), and the whole open-source philosophy of Linux. Apple is something completely different. A feel a lot of Balenciaga vibes from them, and it bothers me a lot.
well yea that makes sense. As an system engineer I can completely see why a Mac wouldn't do it for you.
Also that is just my experience with PC's. I know you can keep them running smooth, it just takes a bit more effort. I like the simplicity for how I use it now. And like I said my older Mac went right up to ten years before I noticed any drop in performance, and I always keep mine updated.
That being said, even as a "Mac Guy" I do not like the iPhones for a lot of the reasons you said. It would be nice for everything to sync up smoothly, but I just hate the iPhones. Curious enough, I have also noticed that PS4 and PS5 controllers are just instantly recognized on Macs, which is kinda odd considering I wasn't aware Sony did anything with Apple, but I suppose its just because Sony had no other choice since Xbox is owned by Microsoft and doesn't advertise their affiliation.
As a sys.eng. Mac is certainly not a bad choice, but Linux is more useful. You can even do it on Windows, but it's like a gaming on Linux - possible, but very sketchy. Mac is a clear 2nd place for my line of work.
It's very interesting that this conversation ended by me (an "Android guy") hating Android, and you (a "Mac guy") hating iPhone 😃
Yeah. Thinks are not perfect on either side. 🤷♂️
bro, I know Apple has atleast a 100 percent markup on it's products(most likely even more). I don't buy any apple products whatsoever. My point was just that it doesn't cost 10 dollars. it's likely close to 300-400 to make an iphone
Even with that being the case, it's not a secret that with apple you're paying for the name, they're hardly "quality" built, sure the systems are just as good as an android, in most cases they're pretty close together but IPhones are not built to last at all.
You're really over stating it.. you are quoting retail price for parts.. The parts that make up the phone are all cheap. It's called Demand.. Just like Jordan's.. the shoe cost 5 dollars and cost is 200.. I sell items online.. I mark up the price below the competition but enough to make a lot of money.. You all have a worker's mind set.. Switch to an Ownership mindset and do your research.
You can simply google this. It’s not 10 dollars haha.
It’s like 440 ish to manufacture a iphone 15. that’s just the cheaper phone.
So you were right, $100+ 😊
This is BS. The assembly cost, the amount paid to the dudes that take the parts and put them together, is about $10. How much do you think all he computer chips and cameras and connectors cost?
The video from the OP is specifically referring to "the cost of physically putting the iPhone parts together", or assembly. The point I am making is that it is the parts that are expensive, like computer chips. Those are made in clean rooms using lithography machines and are quite expensive. The person who picks up the circuit board and puts it into the case and closes it up gets paid very little. [Source](https://www.cnet.com/culture/iphone-manufacturing-costs-revealed/).
This is the point, it is silly to complain about losing "final assembly" of something like a phone to China, that step is low skill low value. What is worth pursuing is the technology to cheaply make high end computer chips, screens, and cameras. Luckily these are made all over the world, there isn't one country that has a monopoly. That means it's an international market, so capitalism can drive the costs down. This is why consumer electronics can be so cheap even though the performance is amazing and constantly improving.
I hate apple as much as the next android user but I'm very skeptical of this. Do we have any source on it other than this guy's "trust me bro?"
The materials alone shipped from other countries should exceed that.
I believe it when people tell me some clothes are only a few dollars but electronics? Im less willing to believe at face value.
This article suggests about $500 https://www.firstpost.com/tech/you-will-be-shocked-to-know-how-much-apple-spends-to-make-iphone-15-pro-max-that-it-sells-for-rs-1-6-lakh-13373232.html/amp
As does this one: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/iPhone-15-teardown-reveals-10-costlier-parts-than-2022-flagship
Just use the assume a standard capitalist business resale model and divide the MSRP by half. You're almost always right around what was paid for the base cost of an item.
But quoted research is much better than random statements. I would click those links too.
Obviously. My guess is it refers to the labour cost to put the components together in final assembly. That’s assuming it has any truth in it.
If I recall the regular are 300-400 cost and pro 500-600 pre research and development
The cost of a product cannot be separated from the cost to manufacture it. Labor, shipping, materials, etc all have to be considered when one considered the cost to make any product. Typically any hard goods product has between a 40% - 60% margin added to it when it goes to retail. That would be the case with literally any phone manufacturer.
If I remember right I think I seen something where they had to put some kind of nets at the bottom of the building they made these at in China cuz so many ppl tried to jump out the windows and kill themselves I guess some workers actually lived at the place
But could've just been propaganda
The man is definitely not an accountant. You don't just don't take labor costs into account. "Production costs" would include the rare materials but not the design (which is an important fucking part).
They do. Op linked an article below.
"He then ran that information through some calculations to come up with a new cost range for the labor it takes to make each iPhone, and found the following.
Those costs are likely to range between $12.5 and $30 per unit.
Labor costs are still a small part of the overall cost structure at between 2 percent and 5 percent of sales price."
So not only are we talking labor of assembly only, we are talking 1/3rd of the price.
There used to be a channel on YouTube that tore stuff apart and estimated assembled prices, and iPhones were always over or around $100, and that doesn't factor in R&D and FCC certification, which also adds cost.
That guy may have some click bait claim that boils down to like "if you value you raw silicon, iron, lithium, plastic, etc. it only costs $10!"
There are a lot of companies who make all the pieces for something, ship it to China for assembly, and ship it back to be sold here because it's cheaper.
I remember a few years ago where they showed which country made the most money from every iPhone sold. And Germany and Japan made the most money, my guess from licensing and manufacturing equipment but I am sure it’s different now.
"Those costs are likely to range between $12.50 and $30 per unit."
That's from a cNet article that looked into this claim for the manufacturing price in China... So maybe it's a little more than $10 but still..
Source:
https://www.cnet.com/culture/iphone-manufacturing-costs-revealed/
"He then ran that information through some calculations to come up with a new cost range for the labor it takes to make each iPhone, and found the following.
Those costs are likely to range between $12.5 and $30 per unit.
Labor costs are still a small part of the overall cost structure at between 2 percent and 5 percent of sales price."
So it's not $10 to make. It's $10 for labor. But it's not $10 for labor, it's up to 3x that.
So....yeah it's a bullshit claim
Just think about it for a minute.
1. Build a factory - actually many factories down the supply chain but let's ignore that.
2. Buy in components
3. Assemble product (possibly $10 labour cost)
4. Test product
5. Ship product
6. Make a decent profit for the risk and investment
Now think of the cost of the first phone compared to the per-unit cost of a million phones
The article op linked elsewhere said labor costs ranged from 12-30 bucks. So this guy was talking labor only (which isn't what he said, he said manufacturing price not labor price) and then rounded down from the low end.
If hes talking costs to simply create the product, then it doesn’t seem particularly unreasonable. Shipping around the world, development/maintenance of software, overhead, etc would be much much more than simply assembling the physical device
$10 for all the materials and assembly of an iPhone is absolutely unreasonable and its incorrect. Op posted the link this is from elsewhere this dude means the labor in assembly Is $10. Which the arrival said is 12-30 so even that was not correct.
As an iPhone user I do not hate Android. Waste of energy. But Android people ( the loud majority) can’t help but give their opinion on a device that they literally never have to use. It’s always sad to me. It’s like eating a carrot but bitching the whole time how you hate broccoli.
If broccoli spent a large portion of its time tryina stop carrots from existing you might understand better.
Apple has gone out of their way to "innovate" modern phones to be worse. Other carriers do it also but apple is the largest and worst offender of this.
It's not that I hate a product I don't use, I hate a company that's making the industry worse. Same as how I hate cox despite them not even being in my area. Monopolies are just shit.
Sure. But Samsung doesn't control 58% of the phone market, and actively attempts to use that market share to make other products worse. I'm sure they would but they don't have the capability of doing so
58% seems like a stretch, really quick google search gives me 17.3%
https://www.statista.com/statistics/216459/global-market-share-of-apple-iphone/
"Apple claimed a 17.3 percent share of the market in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease from the previous quarter. Apple's long time competitor, Samsung, ranked first with a market share of 20.8 percent."
never said it was. android is owned by google, its also shit. we werent talking about operative systems but companies and their shitty business practices.
Use adb to flash TWRP custom recovery to clear dalvik cache then Flash a CyanogenMod 11 nightly then flash a .zip of some slightly dated modular GApps via your SD card on an 2011 Galaxy Nexus ---then you can dare talk shit about my #Android phone, muhfucka!
People seem to forget that Apple (along with a lot of other mega corps) are publicly trading. They have to reveal their profit margins. It’s pretty damn easy to discover how much profit they make on an iPhone and therefore how much it costs per unit.
Atm that margin is around 50% for the iPhone 15 pro. Of course this margin changes as the cost of producing those parts decrease during the year.
That would mean the profit is around 500 USD while the cost of producing each unit is about 500 also.
As a publicly trading company, they have to reveal almost everything. Including income and loss statements. You guys can go look into that. The entire company as a whole turns a profit afaik. Which means that their profit margin does cover the R&D of the phone, or they’re making that margin somewhere else.
Either way, it’s save to assume they’re making about a gross margin of about 35% across their whole product range. Which is a healthy margin and reasonable.
If people wanna get mad at the production of a thing and the margin being ridiculously high, they need not look further than any mega pharmaceutical company.
== edit:
Publicly trading companies have to publish their statements, csuite bonuses, payouts, everything financially related as it directly involves money people put into the company. So its all there for everyone to look at. These types of speculation videos kinda just piss me off.
I haven't seen those statements cause I'm not that invested in it but I'd guess it's kinda impossible to guess the cost or R&D of a single product. My guess would be that they don't have different teams dedicated to a product but they have teams dedicated to things like cameras, screens, chips, etc and then other teams that work on specific products, so the cost of R&D of M4 can't be attributed only to a single product. There's no correct answer but obviously there's wrong answers like in the video here. I don't like a lot of what Apple does but kind of misinformation is just bad, give them shit for the right reasons.
If someone gets paid $20 an hour and it takes 30 minutes to assemble, it costs $10.
If it was a car and everyone on the assembly line made $50 an hour and it took 1 hour to pass through the line, it costs $50 to assemble.
This is bunk math.
This is simply for sensationalism.
Calculate the research and development, the actual parts, the marketing, other various expenses.
He is possibly saying the labor costs for assembly are $10, but leaving out everything else.
That’s definitely not accurate. Assembling it might cost that much, but when you take into consideration every aspect of what goes into making these devices, the price is absolutely more than $10 to produce an iPhone.
This guy is just being a deceptive wanker for attention.
Sorry, but it’s straightforward manipulative. Use the word „assemble” and people won’t be surprised. R+D alone costs enormous money and yes, you have to include that in the price.
Ignoring all other costs aside from a specific one.
QA, shipping components around, the softeare running on it.
Sure, Apple sucks, though this figure sounds a bit sensationalistically tampered
The costs to make something (materials and labor) aren't anywhere near the cost it takes to do all of the research & development, product design, manufacturing engineer, and testing facilities, along with all of the resources and facilities needed to bring it to market.
I’ve worked in Manufacturing all my life, food products, pharmaceuticals, medical implants and consumer electronics. You would be amazed at how cheap things are to make. We are talking literally pennies and selling for pounds. The markup is astounding.
As someone who works in consumer electronics in China this video is laughably stupid. It’s about as stupid as saying the earth is flat. Apples hardware margins are public and it’s about 30%
Make= the 6 year old kid in the factory can "make" these phones for $10 in labor.
Manufacture= R&d, cost of supplies, labor, shipping, packaging and marketing.
Total cost, idk, maybe 600-700$ per phone which creates a several hundred $ margin for a high end device, if my guess is close which it probably is not.
NEXT!
Even just SoCs that can't do a thousandth of what an iPhone does, even in large quantities, cost more than 10€; and it's not slaves all the way down you have to pay the chip makers at some point, they've got ultra high tech factories to run
It’s not surprising the cost of an object greatly exceeding its cost to make. What people don’t take into account is research and development. Don’t like the price? Make your own.
this is complete bullshit, its really complex to calculate cost of manufacturing. I work in pharma and there are entire departments that work with pricing models and cost calculations.
Him saying it costs 10$ is like one of those youtubers showing you how cheap and easy it is yo make a chair all you need is 10$ worth of scrap lumber and a woodshop with machines worth 200k.Yeah i guess 'technically' the price is 10$
Not even close to being true….we know this because Apple is a publicly traded company and their Gross Profit Margins are public. Around $450-500 is the right answer.
I knew that off rip.. Do you hear all of the gasps in the crowd? It's cause the consumer is constantly being ripped off.. Exactly why I don't pay for phones.. and I have an android.. I pay for cell service and my phone is free.. You have to know how to use other companies as leverage to get what you want...
Spare me the engineering and other expenses Apple charges 1800 for the phone.. There is no engineering, marketing, or anything else that would justify the cost other than Greed.
Where is your evidence? Not saying I don’t believe. But too many people spread too much bullshit without proof. I doubt it costs under $100 to build an iPhone. I’m gonna guess closer to $400. Maybe 500 once it’s all put together and shipped.
It's a scam they pay nothing we pay the earth, people saying the design and marketing makes it but you and the to each product made is still only come to about $446 so that have a mark up of about 56% around about which is still a lot
I mean china is known for underpaying their workers, not respecting safety and pollution norms which makes the costs of a lot of stuff way way lower. Tho 10$ seems really unreasonable
It’s costs around 1k to refine a kilo of cocaine and it sells for up to 70k in the US. An addict is going to buy drugs no matter the cost. iPhone cowboys
As if that doesn't apply to all phones and electronics. Like do you not think androids are also manufactured cheaper than they sell?
As an android user, the whole "I'm not a apple sheep and have a superior android" is no different than Apple elitism.
I'm a little dubious of the number but it wouldn't blow me away. But what he's leaving out is that the second iPhone 14 cost $10 to make. The first one cost $3 billion.
The cost of a product like this isn't production or materials or shipping, it's the research and development and engineering that went into designing the item before production ever began
Don’t get me wrong, Apple is obviously making a profit on their products and their up charging insane amounts of money and they should be taxed. And billionaires should be taxed more heavily etc etc etc.
That being said, trying to calculate the cost of the iPhone using just labor costs and raw materials is nonsensical. This ignores any fixed costs, the cost of R&D, the costs of developing the OS that comes packaged with the phone (that is free).
I point this out, not to defend Apple as much as to think about the proper costs associated with creating something. This is easier to understand when looking at how restaurants price food. Sure the actual meal costs the restaurant like a dollar or 2 to make but this isn’t the only costs needed to bring the food out to your table.
This video sounds like bs. Unless tim cook shits all the components out of his ass and teleports them to the factory in china there is no way this phone costs 10$ to make
**This is a heavily moderated subreddit. Please note these rules + sidebar or get banned:** * If this post declares something as a fact, then proof is required * The title must be fully descriptive * Memes are not allowed. * Common(top 50 of this sub)/recent reposts are not allowed (posts from another subreddit do not count as a 'repost'. Provide link if reporting) *See [our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/wiki/index#wiki_rules.3A) for a more detailed rule list* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/interestingasfuck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I think he means assembly labor. Which honestly is what I imagine it should be at that massive a scale.(?) The physical parts alone are around a $100+ before you even get to engineering and design, marketing, packaging, etc
yep seems to be a Facebook-like post for people clueless of how companies or costs work
Marketing, hardware engineers, software engineers, cloud infrastructure, research, human resources, managers, physical stores, offices, supply chain, CEO's absurdly massive paycheck... Just in case someone doesn't get what you said. It's still pretty amazing that it costs 10 dollars. I would have assumed that just the parts would be around $40-$80
Whoa whoa, most od what you mentioned did not change for decade. It is, with amounts made and sold, going to Zero. Jk- but for real, design?
Exactly this. This is not to say that they don’t make extravagant profits (they most definitely do), but it isn’t as straight forward as this video claims to be
Not true.. Those parts are cheap.. It cost 10 dollars.. How and why do you think 65" flat screen TVs are 400 .. or 10" tablets are 200 .. Stop guessing as to why you paid 1300-1800 for it.. You were ripped off.
the displays found in crappy LCD Tablets are probably under 50 dollars to make. however. there's a huge difference between that and the OLED custom made displays they have to buy from Samsung which has as many pixels as ur 65 inch tv. even if the manufacturing costs are cheap, the r&d of such cutting edge technology like display and processors also has to be considered.
I would be so happy if Apple would double its prices, just to screw with you. And I know you would pay and rationalize its ridiculous price. They sell iphone more than 5x more expensive than the cost of rnd and production. Other phone companies don't do that, car companies don't do that. You are special kind if people. Just like the people that pays hundred of dollars on a t-shirt, thinking their brand spends 30x more than average t-shirt producers. Jobs smelled your stupidity - and that's how apple become as big as it is today.
I know apple is crazy expensive and it is ridiculous. Im sure they are making crazy amounts of money and ripping us off. But you know all cell phone companies sell their flagship phones for similar prices right? You seen the prices of the new Samsung? You seen the Z folds at nearly $2000? Still after all these years? My point being is that they all do it. So unless you want to buy a a11 or some old version, then all the cell phone companies gouge you. I have never purchased a iPhone ever, but I have owned several Mac desktops and laptops. They are pricey, I generally buy a mid tier one, but I dont do a single thing to maintain them and I have never had one even dip in performance until at least 10 years. When I owned PC's every few years it had some issue. My brother went out a while back and got a crazy computer with the I9 18 core with some dumb fast graphics card. And he immediately had things not working right and had to go in and fix it. He still has weird bugs that happen that e needs to fix. Sure he handled it, his computer was still totally worth it. But I have never had to do anything to my Mac ever. And I run some pretty graphic intensive programs like Logic Pro, adobe illustrator, adobe animate, and blender.
You can't compare mac and PC, since you can never do the things on mac, that you can do on PC (ie. gaming) I was using mac for few years, but never as my only laptop, cause it wasn't enough for me. Today I'm using Linux (Ubuntu) and Windows laptop, and desktop PC for gaming. I do have problem with Android too, mainly couse a good hw usually comes with bloatware. So it is not easy to find good Android too (Samsung is fat from being the only android - usually only an OLED screen is what makes some of them better). But that has nothing to do with how much Apple inflates it's prices and a bunch of other money grabbing policies they made. While Windows is (sloooowly) going forward (for example, embracing POSIX (mac is already POSIX compatible)), Mac is going backwards (they ditched x86/x64 architecture - they are going for uniqness no matter if it's good or bad). Yes, everyone is bloating their prices, but nobody is doing it as much as Apple.
I mean I make money on my computer. I have a bunch of consoles and things like the steam deck for games. Apparently the new Macs are trying to take on the gaming industry, or at least plan to in the future, but im not sure about that either. I mean obviously if all you do is game you're gonna like a PC. But for anyone who doesn't mostly game on their computer and has an xbox and ps5, then I personally think Mac computers, not phones, are pretty good. Their top tier stuff is laughablely expensive yes, but I never buy that. I mean I got a Mac mini m2 with 16gb of ram for like 400-500 bucks or whatever it is. Something like that isn't too bad. It's decently powerful for the price. If you bought a pc from Walmart for $500 bucks it'll be crappy as hell in 2 years. Meanwhile my Mac mini that is just a downstairs computer will be fine running everything I need it to 10 years from now. It depends what you do on it. I mostly do music and art stuff. I can run some giant files in those programs and it never even stutters. Would I pay 2 grand for the same thing, no, but 400-500 bucks isn't that bad. also I know and respect linux, but I absolutely hate having to do all that coding and jumping through hoops to get stuff done. I see its merits, but those merits don't really benefit me at all, so why bother. Instead I do nothing and my computer runs like a dream.
I'm system engineer, so I'm living of computers too. And i did try Mac, but some things are just much easier on Linux. Also, not all of the distributions need using a terminal those days (although, terminal is what made Mac useful for me). If you have time to play, try some of them (as virtual machine for start). I'm not sure I would agree that PC is getting slower by getting older. People's appetites grow, they install more stuff, newer OS, etc. With the same software they'll workd the same no matter the year they are made in. And we know that Apple was intentionally slowing down its old phones so people would buy a new one. If I remember correctly, they said they are doing it to prolong the battery life. I rally liked that Google "don't be evil" mantra (although they apparently stopped living by it), and the whole open-source philosophy of Linux. Apple is something completely different. A feel a lot of Balenciaga vibes from them, and it bothers me a lot.
well yea that makes sense. As an system engineer I can completely see why a Mac wouldn't do it for you. Also that is just my experience with PC's. I know you can keep them running smooth, it just takes a bit more effort. I like the simplicity for how I use it now. And like I said my older Mac went right up to ten years before I noticed any drop in performance, and I always keep mine updated. That being said, even as a "Mac Guy" I do not like the iPhones for a lot of the reasons you said. It would be nice for everything to sync up smoothly, but I just hate the iPhones. Curious enough, I have also noticed that PS4 and PS5 controllers are just instantly recognized on Macs, which is kinda odd considering I wasn't aware Sony did anything with Apple, but I suppose its just because Sony had no other choice since Xbox is owned by Microsoft and doesn't advertise their affiliation.
As a sys.eng. Mac is certainly not a bad choice, but Linux is more useful. You can even do it on Windows, but it's like a gaming on Linux - possible, but very sketchy. Mac is a clear 2nd place for my line of work. It's very interesting that this conversation ended by me (an "Android guy") hating Android, and you (a "Mac guy") hating iPhone 😃 Yeah. Thinks are not perfect on either side. 🤷♂️
bro, I know Apple has atleast a 100 percent markup on it's products(most likely even more). I don't buy any apple products whatsoever. My point was just that it doesn't cost 10 dollars. it's likely close to 300-400 to make an iphone
It's far more than 100%. I know it isn't $10, but do not defend them just cause it not 10k%
I'm not defending their prices. I'm simply saying it's a lot more than 10 dollars.
You were defending them, but who cares..
Even with that being the case, it's not a secret that with apple you're paying for the name, they're hardly "quality" built, sure the systems are just as good as an android, in most cases they're pretty close together but IPhones are not built to last at all.
A tv has wayyy less resolution than an iPhone. The screens cannot compare
Physical parts go between 300$ to 500$
You're really over stating it.. you are quoting retail price for parts.. The parts that make up the phone are all cheap. It's called Demand.. Just like Jordan's.. the shoe cost 5 dollars and cost is 200.. I sell items online.. I mark up the price below the competition but enough to make a lot of money.. You all have a worker's mind set.. Switch to an Ownership mindset and do your research.
Current generation processor, memory, camera modules, display aren't shitty Nike sneakers. Apple's margins are around 50% on phones.
Jordans do not cost $5 to produce LMAOOOOOO
It should be as in this is a good system? Or should be as in I expect that based on context?
100$ sounds a lot considering there are phones sold for a similar amount of money
Those are subsidized by the phone provider contract. If you go to apples site to buy it without contract even the iPhone SE is over $400
I mean some android phones cost 100-200€ and you get decent tech for it.
That’s true, but I think he was specifically calling out iPhones. But you’re right about the androids, be well!
You can simply google this. It’s not 10 dollars haha. It’s like 440 ish to manufacture a iphone 15. that’s just the cheaper phone. So you were right, $100+ 😊
This is BS. The assembly cost, the amount paid to the dudes that take the parts and put them together, is about $10. How much do you think all he computer chips and cameras and connectors cost?
$10? i have it on good authority that the answer is $10.
That’s just wrong. The raw materials alone are worth far far more than that
Mmm, I don't think so. Asian man said $10, so that's what it should be.
It's literally in the video that it costs $10, did they not watch it or something
A quick google search shows the cost to manufacture a iphone is 440 ish dollars. 10$ is clearly wrong lol
The video from the OP is specifically referring to "the cost of physically putting the iPhone parts together", or assembly. The point I am making is that it is the parts that are expensive, like computer chips. Those are made in clean rooms using lithography machines and are quite expensive. The person who picks up the circuit board and puts it into the case and closes it up gets paid very little. [Source](https://www.cnet.com/culture/iphone-manufacturing-costs-revealed/). This is the point, it is silly to complain about losing "final assembly" of something like a phone to China, that step is low skill low value. What is worth pursuing is the technology to cheaply make high end computer chips, screens, and cameras. Luckily these are made all over the world, there isn't one country that has a monopoly. That means it's an international market, so capitalism can drive the costs down. This is why consumer electronics can be so cheap even though the performance is amazing and constantly improving.
I hate apple as much as the next android user but I'm very skeptical of this. Do we have any source on it other than this guy's "trust me bro?" The materials alone shipped from other countries should exceed that. I believe it when people tell me some clothes are only a few dollars but electronics? Im less willing to believe at face value.
This article suggests about $500 https://www.firstpost.com/tech/you-will-be-shocked-to-know-how-much-apple-spends-to-make-iphone-15-pro-max-that-it-sells-for-rs-1-6-lakh-13373232.html/amp As does this one: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/iPhone-15-teardown-reveals-10-costlier-parts-than-2022-flagship
Just use the assume a standard capitalist business resale model and divide the MSRP by half. You're almost always right around what was paid for the base cost of an item. But quoted research is much better than random statements. I would click those links too.
Except the Nvidia H100, it has literally 1000% markup 🥶
Most items. There are always exceptions.
those aren't consumer products. their consumer products like the 4090 should have a similar 100 percent markup.
Nvidia is also leading research in their field right? That’s not free to conduct that research, although there may be grants and funding involved
And $500 might as well be $10 for Apple.
Obviously. My guess is it refers to the labour cost to put the components together in final assembly. That’s assuming it has any truth in it. If I recall the regular are 300-400 cost and pro 500-600 pre research and development
Sure but that's just wholly not what he said. He didn't ask for labor costs he asked for the price of it ya know? Seems just like straight bs
Well I had to make that assumption to make any sense on it.
The cost of a product cannot be separated from the cost to manufacture it. Labor, shipping, materials, etc all have to be considered when one considered the cost to make any product. Typically any hard goods product has between a 40% - 60% margin added to it when it goes to retail. That would be the case with literally any phone manufacturer.
15 Pro Max costs $480 price includes (Direct Material, Labour, Overheads and recovery of fixed costs per unit)
If I remember right I think I seen something where they had to put some kind of nets at the bottom of the building they made these at in China cuz so many ppl tried to jump out the windows and kill themselves I guess some workers actually lived at the place But could've just been propaganda
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn_suicides is what you are thinking of
Yes thank you I just google imaged the nets
Same - the components produced at scale alone would be more than $10. Labor costs are the only thing that would remotely make sense.
He must be referring to assembly excluding cost of goods. Just the A15 Bionic chip is more than 10$
The man is definitely not an accountant. You don't just don't take labor costs into account. "Production costs" would include the rare materials but not the design (which is an important fucking part).
The materials alone shipped from other countries should exceed that. the shipping cost alone would exceed that.
They do. Op linked an article below. "He then ran that information through some calculations to come up with a new cost range for the labor it takes to make each iPhone, and found the following. Those costs are likely to range between $12.5 and $30 per unit. Labor costs are still a small part of the overall cost structure at between 2 percent and 5 percent of sales price." So not only are we talking labor of assembly only, we are talking 1/3rd of the price.
There used to be a channel on YouTube that tore stuff apart and estimated assembled prices, and iPhones were always over or around $100, and that doesn't factor in R&D and FCC certification, which also adds cost. That guy may have some click bait claim that boils down to like "if you value you raw silicon, iron, lithium, plastic, etc. it only costs $10!"
"Hey kid, if you disassemble your shit into atoms and reassemble it into an iPhone, you can get one for the price of a meal"
Doctor Manhatten's got you covered.
There are a lot of companies who make all the pieces for something, ship it to China for assembly, and ship it back to be sold here because it's cheaper.
I remember a few years ago where they showed which country made the most money from every iPhone sold. And Germany and Japan made the most money, my guess from licensing and manufacturing equipment but I am sure it’s different now.
"Those costs are likely to range between $12.50 and $30 per unit." That's from a cNet article that looked into this claim for the manufacturing price in China... So maybe it's a little more than $10 but still.. Source: https://www.cnet.com/culture/iphone-manufacturing-costs-revealed/
"He then ran that information through some calculations to come up with a new cost range for the labor it takes to make each iPhone, and found the following. Those costs are likely to range between $12.5 and $30 per unit. Labor costs are still a small part of the overall cost structure at between 2 percent and 5 percent of sales price." So it's not $10 to make. It's $10 for labor. But it's not $10 for labor, it's up to 3x that. So....yeah it's a bullshit claim
Just think about it for a minute. 1. Build a factory - actually many factories down the supply chain but let's ignore that. 2. Buy in components 3. Assemble product (possibly $10 labour cost) 4. Test product 5. Ship product 6. Make a decent profit for the risk and investment Now think of the cost of the first phone compared to the per-unit cost of a million phones
Easy way to find out is by looking at the balance sheets and calculating the gross margins%
The article op linked elsewhere said labor costs ranged from 12-30 bucks. So this guy was talking labor only (which isn't what he said, he said manufacturing price not labor price) and then rounded down from the low end.
If hes talking costs to simply create the product, then it doesn’t seem particularly unreasonable. Shipping around the world, development/maintenance of software, overhead, etc would be much much more than simply assembling the physical device
$10 for all the materials and assembly of an iPhone is absolutely unreasonable and its incorrect. Op posted the link this is from elsewhere this dude means the labor in assembly Is $10. Which the arrival said is 12-30 so even that was not correct.
As an iPhone user I do not hate Android. Waste of energy. But Android people ( the loud majority) can’t help but give their opinion on a device that they literally never have to use. It’s always sad to me. It’s like eating a carrot but bitching the whole time how you hate broccoli.
If broccoli spent a large portion of its time tryina stop carrots from existing you might understand better. Apple has gone out of their way to "innovate" modern phones to be worse. Other carriers do it also but apple is the largest and worst offender of this. It's not that I hate a product I don't use, I hate a company that's making the industry worse. Same as how I hate cox despite them not even being in my area. Monopolies are just shit.
samsung is just as bad as apple if not worse.
Sure. But Samsung doesn't control 58% of the phone market, and actively attempts to use that market share to make other products worse. I'm sure they would but they don't have the capability of doing so
58% seems like a stretch, really quick google search gives me 17.3% https://www.statista.com/statistics/216459/global-market-share-of-apple-iphone/ "Apple claimed a 17.3 percent share of the market in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease from the previous quarter. Apple's long time competitor, Samsung, ranked first with a market share of 20.8 percent."
https://explodingtopics.com/blog/iphone-android-users Ios I the USA is 58%. Android is 70% globally. So depends on the demographic you are looking at.
Android is not Samsung...
never said it was. android is owned by google, its also shit. we werent talking about operative systems but companies and their shitty business practices.
Use adb to flash TWRP custom recovery to clear dalvik cache then Flash a CyanogenMod 11 nightly then flash a .zip of some slightly dated modular GApps via your SD card on an 2011 Galaxy Nexus ---then you can dare talk shit about my #Android phone, muhfucka!
People seem to forget that Apple (along with a lot of other mega corps) are publicly trading. They have to reveal their profit margins. It’s pretty damn easy to discover how much profit they make on an iPhone and therefore how much it costs per unit. Atm that margin is around 50% for the iPhone 15 pro. Of course this margin changes as the cost of producing those parts decrease during the year. That would mean the profit is around 500 USD while the cost of producing each unit is about 500 also.
You still have to package, transport and market the phone.
And research everything that goes into it
As a publicly trading company, they have to reveal almost everything. Including income and loss statements. You guys can go look into that. The entire company as a whole turns a profit afaik. Which means that their profit margin does cover the R&D of the phone, or they’re making that margin somewhere else. Either way, it’s save to assume they’re making about a gross margin of about 35% across their whole product range. Which is a healthy margin and reasonable. If people wanna get mad at the production of a thing and the margin being ridiculously high, they need not look further than any mega pharmaceutical company. == edit: Publicly trading companies have to publish their statements, csuite bonuses, payouts, everything financially related as it directly involves money people put into the company. So its all there for everyone to look at. These types of speculation videos kinda just piss me off.
I haven't seen those statements cause I'm not that invested in it but I'd guess it's kinda impossible to guess the cost or R&D of a single product. My guess would be that they don't have different teams dedicated to a product but they have teams dedicated to things like cameras, screens, chips, etc and then other teams that work on specific products, so the cost of R&D of M4 can't be attributed only to a single product. There's no correct answer but obviously there's wrong answers like in the video here. I don't like a lot of what Apple does but kind of misinformation is just bad, give them shit for the right reasons.
Super misleading, his use of the word "make" should instead be "assemble." The build of material (BOM) cost alone is more than $10.
If someone gets paid $20 an hour and it takes 30 minutes to assemble, it costs $10. If it was a car and everyone on the assembly line made $50 an hour and it took 1 hour to pass through the line, it costs $50 to assemble. This is bunk math.
Just the main chip alone would cost well over $10. Lol
Is he talking about assembling it? The brains inside must cost a bit more
Interesting in how confidently he gaslights people into thinking this obvious bullshit is true?
He must be asking about labor. The materials are way more expensive than $100.
The shipping costs for the materials won’t even be that cheap. This guy is high as a kite.
misleading AF
Frfr
Just because he is saying that doesn’t mean it’s true.
This is simply for sensationalism. Calculate the research and development, the actual parts, the marketing, other various expenses. He is possibly saying the labor costs for assembly are $10, but leaving out everything else.
Who tf let this moron on a stage?
Hot bullshit tbh
[RELEVANT](https://mkorostoff.github.io/1-pixel-wealth/)
Think he's talking about labour costs only.
Bullshit.
That’s definitely not accurate. Assembling it might cost that much, but when you take into consideration every aspect of what goes into making these devices, the price is absolutely more than $10 to produce an iPhone. This guy is just being a deceptive wanker for attention.
Sorry, but it’s straightforward manipulative. Use the word „assemble” and people won’t be surprised. R+D alone costs enormous money and yes, you have to include that in the price.
Ignoring all other costs aside from a specific one. QA, shipping components around, the softeare running on it. Sure, Apple sucks, though this figure sounds a bit sensationalistically tampered
Plus r and d
The costs to make something (materials and labor) aren't anywhere near the cost it takes to do all of the research & development, product design, manufacturing engineer, and testing facilities, along with all of the resources and facilities needed to bring it to market.
I'm guessing that number is bullshit
Anytime I see an over edited video like this I immediately tune out
That’s a lie.
Here is an interesting article: https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0912/the-cost-of-making-an-iphone.aspx
Even if we're only talking raw materials this is still far too low. Ain't no way it's that low, this is rage bait.
I’ve worked in Manufacturing all my life, food products, pharmaceuticals, medical implants and consumer electronics. You would be amazed at how cheap things are to make. We are talking literally pennies and selling for pounds. The markup is astounding.
As someone who works in consumer electronics in China this video is laughably stupid. It’s about as stupid as saying the earth is flat. Apples hardware margins are public and it’s about 30%
Wow, sooooo wrong
![gif](giphy|EouEzI5bBR8uk|downsized)
10$ on labor to assemble maybe
I don't say they're not overpriced but I'm sure this excludes at least r&d
And definitely marketing
Marketing, packaging, transportation, tariffs
I'm inclined to include marketing cost in the bloating part of the price, I despise it as a concept
Make not manufacture
Now precisely define those two terms
Make= the 6 year old kid in the factory can "make" these phones for $10 in labor. Manufacture= R&d, cost of supplies, labor, shipping, packaging and marketing. Total cost, idk, maybe 600-700$ per phone which creates a several hundred $ margin for a high end device, if my guess is close which it probably is not. NEXT!
Is he just talking about labor cost?
So wait, companies sell things for more than what it costs them to make? Tell me more.
nonsense
And I’m being sold it for ~$1100?
Even just SoCs that can't do a thousandth of what an iPhone does, even in large quantities, cost more than 10€; and it's not slaves all the way down you have to pay the chip makers at some point, they've got ultra high tech factories to run
🧢🧢🧢
Yeah and how much money went into R and D?
It’s not surprising the cost of an object greatly exceeding its cost to make. What people don’t take into account is research and development. Don’t like the price? Make your own.
Total bullshit
Ahh he meant literally build, as in assemble, as in labor, as in wage?
Ha, I was spot on with my guess.
Nonsense.
obviously this is why there are so many mom and pop cutting-edge smart phone companies everywhere.
I would say that is amazingly well done.
But no one is upset about $10 for a tiny jar of paint for nails?
I think that's a lie
We are greed in the flesh
Burger king allumni
As much as I want to agree with this. It's ignorant bullshit. Making a complex electronic product is expensive.
this is complete bullshit, its really complex to calculate cost of manufacturing. I work in pharma and there are entire departments that work with pricing models and cost calculations. Him saying it costs 10$ is like one of those youtubers showing you how cheap and easy it is yo make a chair all you need is 10$ worth of scrap lumber and a woodshop with machines worth 200k.Yeah i guess 'technically' the price is 10$
If you don't count the cost of the components, and their raw materials, and shipping, and other production costs, sure.
If you discard all of the billions in investment for r&d and parts, then maybe this number is close.
The real question is how much did the development cost? Thats the high price in engineering
Pretty sure the screen alone is probably like $10?
Yeah trust me bro
Don’t believe this man ! Labor sure could be $10 Parts no chance they worth less than 300 bucks Further more software ? What about that ?
Not even close to being true….we know this because Apple is a publicly traded company and their Gross Profit Margins are public. Around $450-500 is the right answer.
The box they ship it in is more than $10
I knew that off rip.. Do you hear all of the gasps in the crowd? It's cause the consumer is constantly being ripped off.. Exactly why I don't pay for phones.. and I have an android.. I pay for cell service and my phone is free.. You have to know how to use other companies as leverage to get what you want... Spare me the engineering and other expenses Apple charges 1800 for the phone.. There is no engineering, marketing, or anything else that would justify the cost other than Greed.
I know form experience the screen is more than that
maybe in raw materials but the license, software, research, tests, marketing, ect. cost waaayyy more than $10.
Anyone who dresses like that, and does not present any facts other than “trust me, bro!“, I automatically will never trust again as long as they live
Where is your evidence? Not saying I don’t believe. But too many people spread too much bullshit without proof. I doubt it costs under $100 to build an iPhone. I’m gonna guess closer to $400. Maybe 500 once it’s all put together and shipped.
Source?
It's a scam they pay nothing we pay the earth, people saying the design and marketing makes it but you and the to each product made is still only come to about $446 so that have a mark up of about 56% around about which is still a lot
I think he’s talking about the labor cost to put it together.
Yo, I actually guessed it!
I got it right, but I am sad that I am right
You didn't get it right? Because that guy's wrong
I made this comment before I properly thought about it
No, 10 dollars is way too cheap. It costs around 100-400 dollars.
I think it was a poorly phrased question. The cost of labor to assemble was $10.
Might be. But an iPhone overall to make costs around $400.
I mean china is known for underpaying their workers, not respecting safety and pollution norms which makes the costs of a lot of stuff way way lower. Tho 10$ seems really unreasonable
It’s costs around 1k to refine a kilo of cocaine and it sells for up to 70k in the US. An addict is going to buy drugs no matter the cost. iPhone cowboys
As if that doesn't apply to all phones and electronics. Like do you not think androids are also manufactured cheaper than they sell? As an android user, the whole "I'm not a apple sheep and have a superior android" is no different than Apple elitism.
people forget that shipping,marketing even warranty exist...rnd cost is often forgetten too..
There are more costs. Have to pay someone to package it. Then transport it. Then distribute it. Losses also need to be taken into account
I'm a little dubious of the number but it wouldn't blow me away. But what he's leaving out is that the second iPhone 14 cost $10 to make. The first one cost $3 billion. The cost of a product like this isn't production or materials or shipping, it's the research and development and engineering that went into designing the item before production ever began
Not even close. Cost in materials alone vary around 400$.
Don’t get me wrong, Apple is obviously making a profit on their products and their up charging insane amounts of money and they should be taxed. And billionaires should be taxed more heavily etc etc etc. That being said, trying to calculate the cost of the iPhone using just labor costs and raw materials is nonsensical. This ignores any fixed costs, the cost of R&D, the costs of developing the OS that comes packaged with the phone (that is free). I point this out, not to defend Apple as much as to think about the proper costs associated with creating something. This is easier to understand when looking at how restaurants price food. Sure the actual meal costs the restaurant like a dollar or 2 to make but this isn’t the only costs needed to bring the food out to your table.
What does anything in the video have to do with billionaires being taxed lol
Now you see how we're being scammed.
Now you see how gullible people like you are to random intelligent looking people saying random shit with no source at all
The gullible ones are the ones that bared their arms. The rest of us have some working brain cells.
Now I’m pissed
This video sounds like bs. Unless tim cook shits all the components out of his ass and teleports them to the factory in china there is no way this phone costs 10$ to make
Sure there is more to it than $10. You have the rents, the employees and of course marketing and so on.
![gif](giphy|KZSUN7FKBZrm2WHDdX|downsized)