Edible Apple

The iPhone 4S may look like the iPhone 4 from the outside, but as Phil Schiller explained during Apple’s iPhone event two weeks ago, the inside has been completely reworked, refined, and improved.

iSuppli recently conducted a teardown analysis of the iPhone 4S, investigated all of the new components therein, and found that the bill of materials (BOM) for the device checks in at around $188 for the 16GB version, $207 for the 32GB version and $245 for the 64GB model.

Some notable observations from the folks at iSuppli include the fact that the iPhone 4S doesn’t include the same noice cancellation ship from Audience that was found on the iPhone 4. iSuppli speculates that this functionality has since been moved to the A5 chip itself which costs Apple about $15 a pop and is supplied by Samsung.

iSuppli also found flash memory from Hynix Semiconductor which was a first. While Apple has sourced memory from Hynix before, they note that this is the first time they’ve seen it appear in the iPhone.

It’s also worth mentioning that iSuppli found a custom part from Avagao that “helps give the iPhone 4S its unique capability to be used in multiple wireless systems globally, while still keeping costs down”

What makes the converged Avago part unique is its capability to support both 2G and 3G cellular technologies across multiple bands thus reducing the number of components and PC board footprint required. While Avago is by no means the only company supplying these types of devices, it is the first to be implemented by Apple.

iSuppli wasn’t able to determine the manufacturer of the iPhone 4S camera but Chipworks used an X-ray to determine that it’s sourced from Sony, though Apple may also be getting its camera modules from Omnivision as well. iSuppli estimates the camera module in each iPhone 4S costs Apple about $17.60.

While the BOM for the iPhone suggests that Apple makes a killing for each iPhone sold – and no doubt that they do – remember that the BOM doesn’t include other costs such as patent licensing, assembling and manufacturing costs, software development, distribution, marketing, and above all, the research and development costs that go into creating a device as sophisticated and complex as the iPhone.

via All Things D