When Apple released the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro this year, the silicon inside was one of the biggest differences between the two models. The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are the only ones with the new A16 Bionic chip from Apple.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus still use the A15 chip from the iPhone 13 series. The A16 costs more than twice as much to make as the A15, which is why this decision was made.
The A16 Chip in the iPhone 14 Pro Has a Significant Hidden Cost
Nikkei Asia took apart the iPhone 14 devices, which gave the site a closer look at the different parts of each one, like the cameras and processors. Nikkei Asia found that making the A16 chip for the iPhone 14 Pro is about 20% more expensive than making the chip for the iPhone 13 Pro.
The total cost to make the A16 chip for the iPhone 14 Pro is $110. This is about 2.4 times more expensive than the A15 chip, which was first used in the iPhone 13 line and is still used in the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus.
Apple spent about $501 on parts to make the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which is $60 more than what it cost to make the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Since the iPhone XS Max came out in 2018, prices have usually stayed between $400 and $450. This price hike is a big deal for Apple.
The A16 Bionic uses a 4-nanometer process from TSMC, a chip supplier, while the older A15 chip used a 5-nanometer process. This is why the A16 Bionic costs more. But the cost increases don’t just affect the processors. In fact, all of the new camera parts in the iPhone 14 are more expensive.
The Sony CMOS image sensors, which are 30% bigger than the ones in the previous models and cost $15, are 50% more expensive than they were before.
Another possible reason for the higher costs is that most of the parts come from the United States. These parts make up about 32.4% of the cost, which is 10% more than the iPhone 13. South Korea was one of the top suppliers in 2021, but its share has dropped to 24.8%, which is over five points.
Due to the strong value of the U.S. dollar, Apple also raised the price of the iPhone 14 series in other countries, such as the U.K., Japan, and Germany, to name a few. Because of these price increases and high production costs, Apple will make less money.
Since the A15 chip from last year is still in the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, some people may not see a reason to upgrade, but from a business point of view, it makes sense (Apple is still a business, of course).
After all, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max use the newer and faster A16 Bionic and have other great features like an always-on display, the Dynamic Island, and a 48-megapixel main camera, which make it more worth the price. But if you’re coming from an older iPhone, like the iPhone X, even the iPhone 14 with its last-generation A15 should be better.
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