IHS Says Upgraded Components In IPhone 6S Plus Costs Apple Extra $16 Per Device

(RTTNews) - Upgraded components in the new iPhone 6S Plus cost $16 more than the components in the earlier iPhone 6 Plus. The bill of materials or BOM for an iPhone 6S Plus equipped with 16 gigabytes or GB of NAND flash memory costs $231.50, according to a preliminary estimate from IHS Inc. (IHS), global source of critical information and insight.

After basic manufacturing costs are added, Apple's total cost to manufacture the iPhone 6S Plus rises to $236. The unsubsidized price for a 16GB iPhone 6S (with a 4.7-inch diagonal screen) is $649, while the unsubsidized price for the 16GB iPhone 6S Plus (with 5.5-inch diagonal display) is $749.

Possibly due in part to Apple's new iPhone financing program, the new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus are designed to be stronger and more resilient, which means it can last longer and better maintain its resale value. Several upgrades combine to effect this improvement, including a harder 7000-series aluminum case, an upgrade to the latest and strongest Gorilla Glass 4 cover glass, as well as additional gaskets and seals that improve water resistance.

Apple has upgraded the core processor, from their A8 series to the more powerful A9 series Apple touts as having a 70 percent faster CPU performance. The processor also integrates M9 motion co-processor functionality. The previous generation iPhone 6 and 6 Plus featured an A8 processor, as well as an M8 motion co-processor that was a separate integrated circuit supplied by NXP Semiconductor. In this new generation, the M9 exists within the A9 processor, and the stand-alone integrated circuit is no longer needed to perform this function.

The iPhone wireless modem has evolved from a CAT 4 (Qualcomm MDM9625) to a CAT 6 (Qualcomm MDM9635) modem that provides better data throughput. Furthermore, like preceding iPhone designs, the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus feature support for a number of total long-term evolution (LTE) bands in a single device, allowing Apple roll out its products globally, without other physical variations to the wireless section of its devices.