iPad Air 2 cost revealed, high-end device profits squeezed

According to a report by foreign media Re/code, market research firm IHS has recently released an assessment report, pointing out that Apple's latest 16GB Wi-Fi version of iPad Air 2, which is priced at $499, actually costs only $275 to produce, which is only $1 more than last year's iPad Air production price. At the same time, the high-end 128GB LTE version, which is priced at $829, costs only $358.

The report predictably points out that as more iPad users move to higher-capacity models, Apple will see stronger revenue gains from this upgrade trend. Apple spends about $50 more on the new tablet's production costs to upgrade from 16GB to 128GB, but the price of this upgrade to consumers has increased to $200. However, the report also points out that Apple's profit margins on different capacity models of the iPad Air 2 have fallen from 45%-61% to 45%-57%.

In the evaluation report given by IHS iSuppli, after a detailed disassembly of the iPad Air 2, it was found that many components used in the two generations of iPad Air are basically the same, and the display components used in the new model have reduced Apple's cost on the module from US$90 to US$77. However, Apple has added a new anti-reflective coating to the display glass panel of the new device, providing a more significant user experience than the previous generation of devices.

Other changes mentioned in the report include a new, more powerful A8X processor and upgraded camera components, both of which have increased the production cost of the iPad Air 2 device.

It is worth mentioning that IHS iSuppli's evaluation report mainly estimates the component costs of Apple's new tablet iPad Air 2, which does not include a series of product chain costs related to product research and development, patent licensing, manufacturing and sales. Although these estimates cannot accurately reflect the actual value of Apple products, they basically reflect the production cost of the equipment, and we only use them as a reference.

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.