As many consumers settle in with their iPad minis, research firm IHS was working hard on the device’s teardown. The firm, previously known as iSuppli, found that the Wi-Fi 16GB base model costs roughly $188 for Apple to build, which the company sells for $329. Furthermore, the 32 GB and the 64 GB models cost an additional $31 and $62 to build respectively.
The information is interesting to hear because during its Q4 earnings, CFO Peter Oppenheimer announced that the iPad mini gross margin is “significantly below” the rest of the products in Apple’s lineup. Tim Cook did saw that “we’re unwilling to cut corners in delivering the best experienced in the world.” It is being said that Apple had to keep the price down to $329 to stay competitive with other products in the market such as Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle lineup. Unfortunately for many, the Cupertino California company wasn't able to go down to a $199 price point like many had hoped. That being said, Apple did mention working on making the iPad mini production more cost-effective.
Research firm IHS further looked at the components that are being used to build the iPad mini and found that LG Display and AU Optronics are supplying roughly $80 in display components for the 7.9 inch tablet. An iFixit teardown found that Samsung is also making display components as well along with supplying the A5 chip in the iPad mini. The firm also took a look at the Microsoft RT tablet and Kindle Fire HD, with the cost of the devices being $271 for the base 32 GB model and $165 respectively.
The iPad mini went on sale this past Friday morning with many stores already being sold out of the tablet. Many of the early reviews have been quite positive with the exception of the display not being a Retina-capable one. Did you or someone you know pick one up?
Source: IHS via AllThingsD
Reply
