iPhone 11 Pro Max: How Much Does It Cost To Produce Top-Rated Device?

Apple's new top-of-the-line iPhone model, the iPhone 11 Pro Max, has been hailed as the best smartphone money can buy at the moment. It has a slew of features that outperform the competition and easily bests its smaller siblings in the series, the iPhone 11 Pro and the budget model iPhone 11.

The new iPhone 11 Pro Max has a new triple-camera setup that takes breathtaking shots whether it's day or night thanks to the new Deep Fusion and Night Mode features. It has a battery life that's longer than any smartphone battery life recorded in Consumer Reports' listings. And though it may not be that innovative, it still is one of the best phones in history.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max, then, shouldn't be expected to sell for cheap. Apple currently sells the device at prices starting from $1,099. A report, however, reveals that it can actually be produced for less than half that it sells.

A teardown by Tech Insights revealed that the iPhone 11 Pro Max uses components that, when combined, won't even be worth $500 in total. Here's a quick look at the parts and their prices.

Processor

The A13 Bionic chip is currently the best smartphone processor available to date. iPhoneHacks noted that the A13 Bionic inside the iPhone 11 series is the fastest CPU and GPU to date, and far easily outperforms other SoCs found in the competition. Despite its topnotch performance, the A13 Bionic only costs a mere $64.

Camera

The iPhone 11 Pro Max's camera is probably the biggest upgrade it has from the iPhone XS Max. Professional photographer Austin Mann praises its ability to take clear and detailed shots even at night with the Night Mode feature. How much does this component cost? It's the most expensive at $73.50.

Display

The iPhone 11 Pro Max has the best display in any iPhone model right now. It uses a 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR display that has 2,688 x 1,242 resolution and 458ppi. This component, no matter how good it looks, only costs $66.50.

TechInsights summed up the cost of production and arrived at a total of $490.50. Some people may not like the idea of the iPhone 11 Pro Max being sold for more than $1,000 when it only takes less than $500 to make one, but it's worth noting that the bill of materials (BoM) doesn't include the actual cost of producing the iPhone.

Apple has to pay for research and development, salaries, advertising, and more. This means the actual production cost, when factoring everything, will be more than that.