Samsung's Galaxy S4 smartphone costs $244 to make, according to data from market researcher IHS iSuppli.
Compared to the Galaxy S3, the cost of building the 16GB version of the new Galaxy S4 15 percent higher, mainly due to its larger AMOLED display, its faster chip and more computer memory, the California researcher said in a statement today.
The materials and manufacturing cost of the iPhone 5 is $207, iSuppli said in September.
The Galaxy S4's HD display costs $75, up from $65 fpr the previous model, while the Exynos 5 Octa processor in the HSPA+ version costs $30, compared to $17.50 for the quad-core Exynos apps processor in the Galaxy S3. The LTE version of the GS4 uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor, priced at $20. That lower-cost processor reduces the overall materials cost for the LTE version to $233, down $3 from the HSPA+ version. However, the LTE wireless radios cost $25, which is higher than the $16 for the HSPA+ radio and related systems.
Some of the parts in the GS4 were manufactured by Samsung, including the display and touchscreen module, as well as the Octa processor and power management circuit and SDRAM and flash memory. The Samsung components together account for $149 of the hardware in the HSPA+ version, or 63% of the materials.
"Although its hardware is not radically different from the Galaxy S3 introduced in April of 2012, the Samsung Galaxy S4 includes some critical component updates that enhance its functionality," Vincent Leung, senior analyst for cost benchmarking at IHS iSuppli, said in the statement.
The estimates are based on a "virtual teardown" and may be amended after a physical examination of the device and its components, the researcher said.