- Aug 9, 2020
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Nowadays, most flagship devices will cost a decent chunk of change. I think the question we pose to ourselves is whether or not the device is worth the investment.![]()
For what purpose?
You think someone will do a breakdown and find the real cost?
You think someone will do a breakdown and find the real cost?
Its so complex, I'm not even sure companies know the exact cost until they have stopped selling and supporting a product.Real cost of the device only companies know. Bill of materials is one thing but so many other factors like paying for their engineering, R&D, marketing, support etc. Just because materials cost only $400 doesn’t mean they should sell for consumers at that price. Applies to Apple, Samsung or any company.
Someone usually does. Give it a couple of months. Once someone does a teardown and breakdown.
I mean you can Google "how much does it cost to make a samsung S20" and you'll get $528
So the N20U will most likely cost more than $528 and if so, then I think I did well spending $300 for mine (AT&T $1k off promotion)![]()
That only includes production costs. In the end after all is said and they are lucky if they make a dollar a unit.
That only includes production costs. In the end after all is said and they are lucky if they make a dollar a unit.
In a perfect world that would be true. I don't need links to articles to make my case. There are more elements to consider and too many things too go wrong to determine real cost until the dust settles. If you've ever worked for a major company that has had their fair share of product failures, recalls, law suits, or poor sales, then and only then can you understand that's its not just whats up front that counts.....its the bottom line.If you want an idea how much a company can make per phone...
https://www.zdnet.com/article/iphone-xs-max-how-much-profit-does-apple-really-make-on-each-one-sold/
"And based on that data, the gross margin for the iPhone likely stands at around 40 percent. Based on this figure, that $1,249 iPhone XS Max costs Apple in all (parts, labor, R&D, admin, and other associated costs) around $750.
Which means that a good chunk of that revenue -- some $500 -- is profit."
Real cost of the device only companies know. Bill of materials is one thing but so many other factors like paying for their engineering, R&D, marketing, support etc. Just because materials cost only $400 doesn’t mean they should sell for consumers at that price. Applies to Apple, Samsung or any company.
In a perfect world that would be true. I don't need links to articles to make my case. There are more elements to consider and too many things too go wrong to determine real cost until the dust settles. If you've ever worked for a major company that has had their fair share of product failures, recalls, law suits, or poor sales, then and only then can you understand that's its not just whats up front that counts.....its the bottom line.
Product failures are future product costs not past costs. We can dispute this all day long and not get anywhere. The bottom line is regardless what a product costs, the market and competition drives what the consumer pays not direct and indirect product costs.As I wrote above... it was to only give an idea from a company that also runs its business in the same world as Samsung and probably has many more lawsuits than them being not the largest company in a country but one of the largest in the galaxy.
Just showing their breakdown what it is after parts and R&D, etc. you talking about their past product failure and recalls, etc... you don’t even know how much of that is factored in price if at all. It could be like that example above the price of the phone is how much is costs including down to the electricity costs to make that ONE phone. You see Apple sets the price where they can pocket $500 and from there, they can break that profit from that phone down to pay for legal costs and past failures, etc.
Not trying to make it complicated... just an idea... how much for parts, a dollar fig for the overhead, subtract it from the selling price and get the possible profit.
From that profit the company uses it for more r&d, pay legal fees, past mistakes, etc.
^^^ This ^^^While it's interesting to know how much the parts cost, that doesn't include all the costs of manufacturing and certainly won't tell us how much mark up is actually on the product.
Final price needs to cover materials, labor, overhead on the buildings and equipment used for manufacturing, insurance , R&D, advertising, potential recalls, warranty replacements, repairs and maintenance on equipment, investments into new facilities, sales teams need to be paid, commissions go to sales reps, marketing teams get paid, executives need their cut too, then they hand out free accessories left and right with pre orders, legal fees, and when all said and done they need to turn a profit and make shareholders happy because capitalism.
Then when everything goes right there is risk of manufacturing more product than is actually sold and sitting on a warehouse of unsold product that eventually gets sold at a heavy discount, at a loss, or eventually disposed of.
Remember the Note 7? Samsung had to eat the cost of those, just one of many unexpected situations that can be extremely expensive. It's the type of thing that could bankrupt a company.
Meanwhile outside of Samsung alot of Android OEMs are actually losing money, they obviously charge more than the cost to build the phone, but they can't make enough to cover all the other costs and turn a profit.
For me, the REAL cost of the device is the price I pay for it plus the accessories I purchase for it. That's the only costs that really matters to me.
As for product costs, labor, etc...the world may never know. Lol