for a few dollars more!
For this year and without surprise, the iPhone 16 range costs slightly more to produce than the previous generation, in particular due to the increase in component prices. This isn’t entirely surprising, as the iPhone 15 Pro Max already cost around 12% more than its 2022 counterpart.
According to TD Cowen
, Apple costs around $485 for a 256GB iPhone 16 Pro Max, including components, assembly and packaging. In comparison, the iPhone 15 Pro Max came in at $453, an increase of $32. The non-Pro models are also more expensive, at $416 for the iPhone 16 (compared to $395 for the iPhone 15 a year ago).
In detail, the two most expensive components are the screen and the rear camera modulewhich each clock in at a cool $80 or 16% of the total. As for the largest increase observed, we remain with the photo module which saw its price increase by 10 dollars. For their part, memory and storage only increased by only 5 dollars, but – however small it may be – this increase is the greatest in relation to the cost of the component (17 and 22 dollars respectively).
Finally, on the iPhone 16 side, the screen remains the most expensive element this year again with 65 dollars (16% of the total). Memory goes from $9 for 6 GB to $17 for 8 GB this year. In passing, we will note that the A18 chip is raised to 45 dollars ($35 for the A16 in 2023).
repairability held for Apple!
More expensive but more repairable!
For this year, iFixit has just given the iPhone 16 range the best repairability rating, across all generations: 7/10. This score is due to three major changes in the design and internal components that make access to different elements easier.
The first concerns the batteries used in 2024 : These are hard cell batteries and not soft pouch batteries. These can no longer be accidentally punctured by a screwdriver, and are therefore much less likely to catch fire
-which significantly reduces the risk of battery damage.
The second is the use of a new adhesive to fix said battery. The latter can be removed via electroadhesion. This has also been confirmed by Apple in its new guide. The firm indicates that it is possible to use two connectors with a 9-volt battery clip (not supplied) to remove this adhesive by applying a small electrical voltage.
The third factor is the possibility to disassemble the iPhone at the front or at the backincreasing the ease of accessing specific components that need repair. This feature actually debuted on the base iPhone 14 model, but is now also coming to the Pro models of the iPhone 16.
