Galaxy S6 Edge costs more than iPhone 6

Samsung's latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S6 Edge, has the highest production and assembly costs of any smartphone, market research firm IHS said on Tuesday in a teardown analysis.

The report said the 64GB version of the Galaxy S6 Edge, which uses Verizon Wireless' network, costs about $290 to produce, including components and assembly costs, about $34 more than Samsung's Galaxy S5 released last year and even more than Apple's most expensive iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

IHS estimates that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have a maximum bill of materials of $247 and $263, respectively. The Galaxy S6 Edge, with 64GB of storage, costs $699 without the phone, and some versions cost more.

Andrew Rassweiler, an analyst at IHS who oversees teardown studies, said the cost of smartphone components has been rising steadily in recent years. "It's clear Samsung has taken a page out of Apple's playbook, using a metal casing and other design elements similar to Apple's," he said. "We conclude that this phone is priced lower than the iPhone, but costs more to produce."

The most expensive component of the Galaxy S6 Edge is the dual-curved touchscreen display. Rassweiler said that combining the touchscreen with the dual-curved display cost Samsung $85 to produce. The second most expensive component is Samsung's own Exynos 7 application chip, which costs an estimated $29.50. The phone is the first to be equipped with a chip produced using 14 nanometer technology, which can provide more computing power in a smaller space.

Currently, the only other chip on the market produced using 14 nanometer technology is developed by Intel. Apple is also expected to use this technology in future versions of the iPhone.

In addition, this new high-end chip also requires a new high-end memory chip to match. The Galaxy S6 Edge is equipped with Samsung's own DDR4 memory chip, which adds $27 to its component cost. Rassweiler pointed out that this is the first time DDR4 chips have been used in smartphones. In contrast, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus use DDR3 memory chips. The teardown analysis also showed that the cost of 64GB of flash memory used for data storage is $25.

Rassweiler also said that the teardown analysis showed that the Verizon Wireless version of the Galaxy S6 Edge uses a modem chip made by Qualcomm to enable it to connect to Verizon Wireless' network, which costs $15. IHS is also conducting a teardown analysis of the AT&T version of the Galaxy S6 Edge, which is expected to show that version uses Samsung's own modem chip.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.