Michal Ždanský Research firm IHS has published an analysis of the production cost of the new iPad Air, as it does after each release new product Apple. It has hardly changed since the previous generation. The production of the cheapest version of the tablet, that is, with 16GB of memory without a cellular connection, will cost $278 – a dollar more than a year ago for the first iPad Air. However, the margins have decreased by a few percentage points, they currently range from 45 to 57 percent, last year's models reached up to 61 percent margins. This is due to the doubling of memory to 64 GB and 128 GB.
The production price of the most expensive version of the iPad Air 2 with 128 GB and cellular connection is $358. For comparison, the cheapest iPad Air 2 sells for $499, the most expensive for $829. However, the difference between the production and sales price does not remain entirely with Apple, the company must also invest in research, development, production and other matters.
The most expensive component remains the display, which received an anti-glare layer in the second generation iPad Air. For $77, its production is shared by Samsung and LG Display. However, Apple saved on the display compared to last year, when the price of the display was 90 dollars. Another expensive item is the Apple A8X chipset, but its price has not been revealed. Samsung continues to take care of production, but only for forty percent, the majority of chipsets are currently supplied by the Taiwanese manufacturer TSMC.
In terms of storage, one gigabyte of Apple memory costs about 40 cents, the smallest 16GB variant costs nine dollars and twenty cents, the middle variant costs twenty and a half dollars, and finally the 128GB variant costs $60. However, for the fifty-dollar difference between 16 and 128 GB, Apple claims $200, so flash memory continues to be a source of high margins. SK Hynix manufactures it for Apple, but Toshiba and SanDisk apparently also manufacture some of the memories.
According to the autopsy, Apple used practically the same camera in the iPad that is found in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, but it lacks optical stabilization. Its manufacturer has not been identified, but the price of the camera is estimated at $11.
Apple's second new tablet, the iPad mini 3, has not yet been dissected by IHS, but we can expect the Californian company's margins to be very high here. As we can see with the iPad Air 2, many components have become cheaper compared to last year, and since the iPad mini 3 has most of last year's parts in it, while still costing the same, Apple is probably making more money on it than last year.
Well, if we take into account that you have to pay for HW development, SW development, marketing, transportation, etc. So I think that the profit from the iPad is minimal and rather they earn from applications.