Market researcher IHS has released a Bill of Materials for Apple's new iPad, breaking down approximately how much money goes into the creation of a single unit.
According to the firm, Apple spends $306.05, $322.85 and $356.45 on components for the third generation iPad's 16GB, 32GB and 64GB WiFi models, respectively. The device's fancier 4G LTE-enabled version costs slightly more: $347.55 for the 16GB model, $364.35 for the 32GB model and $397.95 for the 64GB model. The manufacturing cost for the WiFi-only models is $10, while making each 4G model runs $10.75/each.
Unsurprisingly, the new iPad's Retina display, provided by Samsung, bumped up costs considerably, explained IHS Senior Principal Analyst Andrew Rassweiler. The cutting-edge >1080p screen boasts around 3.1 million pixels and costs Apple $87 apiece.
"The Retina display represents the centerpiece of the new iPad and is the most obvious enhancement in features compared to previous-generation models," said Rassweiler. "The first two generations of the iPad employed the same type of display -- a screen with resolution of 1,024 by 768 pixels. For the third-generation new iPad, Apple has taken a significant step up in display capabilities and expense, at four times the resolution and 53 percent more cost."
Rassweiler noted that Samsung has possibly garnered around 50 percent of the new iPad's BOM depending on whether it provided Apple with battery cells. (IHS wasn't 100 percent positive.) The Korean company also supplied NAND memory and application processors for the device.
Apple's latest tablet launched on March 16 to sold-out pre-orders. The company declined to provide hard numbers on Monday.
