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When Apple announced the iPhone 14 series in September 2022, it did something unusual. The company split the lineup, giving the high-end iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max a brand-new chip. The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, not so much.
With the iPhone 14 Pro models benefiting from the A16 Bionic, the less costly versions had to make do with the iPhone 14’s A15 Bionic. Nobody would likely accuse the A15 Bionic of being a slow chip, but it was a decision that still irked some.
Now, a new report that looks at how much Apple’s best iPhone costs to build could explain why Apple went that route in the first place.
Fast, but expensive
New data shared by Counterpoint Research and seen by 9to5Mac (opens in new tab) shows precisely how much it costs Apple to build the iPhone 14 Pro Max, with the handset being around 3.4% more expensive on Apple’s side. In the United States, at least, the two phones initially retailed for the same amount.
However, while some of the components used in the iPhone 14 Pro Max got cheaper, the part that now costs more than the previous models is the A16 Bionic chip. Counterpoint Research says that there’s an $11 delta between the two, perhaps explaining why Apple chose to save that money on the millions of non-Pro models it sells all around the globe.
To drive home the point, Counterpoint Research also says that the “processing” category, which includes the A16 Bionic, now makes up around 20% of the phone’s entire cost of materials.
With that in mind, it makes plenty of sense for Apple to save the most costly part for its most expensive phones.
Other notable figures for the iPhone 14 Pro Max include that the mmWave 5G version of the phone costs $20 more to build.
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