In order to understand the cost of Apple's high-end iPhone 16, "Nikkei" Asia dismantled the iPhone 16 Pro with the help of Tokyo research company Fomalhaut Techno Solutions. This year's new model needs to process generative AI on the chip and provide a high-performance camera system, etc., pushing up the overall parts. Cost 6%.

Disassembly results show that the overall parts cost of iPhone 16 Pro is US$568, which is 6% higher than the total cost of last year’s iPhone 15 Pro. As for the overall parts cost of Pixel 9 Pro, it is US$406, 11% less than last year.

The main parts cost increase stems from the A18 Pro chip produced by TSMC as it uses the most advanced 3-nanometer process; the cost of the A18 Pro chip is estimated to be US$135, accounting for about a quarter of the total cost of iPhone 16 Pro parts.

The second most expensive part is the OLED display. The display size is 6.3 inches and cost US$110, The price is more costly than the Pixel display (US$75) because the iPhone saves power through a special process that can change the screen refresh rate. Such innovative technology will increase a certain cost.

In terms of shell cost, the iPhone 16 Pro frame is made of lightweight titanium, which is about $30 more expensive than the aluminum Pixel 9 Pro.

The iPhone 16 Pro camera parts cost $91, which is about $30 more than the Pixel 9 Pro. The iPhone's front-facing lens module time-of-flight sensor is used for facial recognition and can also help capture 3D photos and videos, whereas the Pixel 9 Pro doesn’t have such a sensor.

The Apple iPhone 16 Pro obviously costs a lot more than last year, but even so, Apple has not tried to pass these higher costs on to consumers. The base price of the iPhone Pro model in the United States has remained at $999 since 2019.