One of those, what if? How much does Cameras affect the cost of a Flagship?

[bembol]

It's well know that I don't really care about having the best camera(s) on my phone, I know MP count isn't the only factor that determines how amazing picture/video quality but for this question let's stick with it.

Let's use Samsung's Galaxy S20 Ultra. It goes for $2,089.37 after taxes here in Canada.

What if Samsung (& others) gave people like me the option for a basic camera set up, say a 8MP front & back with a SINGLE lens. How much would the price be? How much would the S20 Ultra be if this was possible.

Are camera lenses even the reason why flagships cost so much or are they just using it to their advantage...marketing?

 

[Mooncatt]

Cameras are a major selling point, but I doubt they contribute much to the cost vs the same phone with a lower quality sensor. If anything, it's the programming of the AI systems for those cameras that contribute more to the cost. Most of the cost is likely due to the other hardware and related development costs (having taken a class on circuit board design in college, dropped it, then taken it again, I can see why these things are so expensive).

 

[Mike Dee]

It depends on actual cost to make verses the premium they charge for features. iPhone does that with some models but it's not always just about the camera.

 

[L0n3N1nja]

https://www.sammobile.com/news/galaxy-s20-ultra-bill-of-materials-costs-528-cameras/

The camera set up is the most expensive part in the S20 Ultra, about a fifth of the total cost of the phone components, and about double the price of the camera in the S10+.

 

[mustang7757]

https://www.sammobile.com/news/galaxy-s20-ultra-bill-of-materials-costs-528-cameras/

The camera set up is the most expensive part in the S20 Ultra, about a fifth of the total cost of the phone components, and about double the price of the camera in the S10+.

Nice find !

 

[Ry]

Are we not factoring the cost to develop the software that powers these cameras?

 

[Morty2264]

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is almost $2100 CAD... Holy mackerel-andy! That's bonkers.