Asian Tech Press (Nov 1) -- A teardown reveals that Apple's latest top-end smartphone, the iPhone 13 Pro Max, is estimated to cost around $438 in total, with Samsung's display being the most costly component, followed by the camera module and chip.

Nikkei and the Financial Times have worked with Fomalhaut Techno Solutions, a Tokyo-based research specialist, to take part Apple's latest flagship iPhone 13 Pro Max (256GB) and found that its total cost of components is 2.5 times higher than it was ten years ago, far higher than the 60% increase in the retail price of the phone.

In addition, the cost of camera lenses has increased tenfold and semiconductor costs are three times what they were ten years ago.

The report shows that Samsung Electronics' OLED display, at around $105, is the most expensive component, accounting for 20% of the cost, followed by the camera module at around $77, or 17.6%. And the third is the A15 Bioni chip made by TSMC's 5nm process at around $45, accounting for about 10% of the total cost.

The total cost of components, including the display, camera module, chip, LiDAR sensor, flash memory, 5G modem chip and lithium-ion battery, is about $438. With the top-end iPhone model priced at $1,199 in the US, such a cost is 36.5% of the price.

Samsung's OLED display is the most expensive, mainly because it is covered with ceramic shield glass, which was developed by Corning and Apple and is highly resistant to shock and breakage.

The report also mentions that the cost-to-retail-price ratio of Android flagship devices is comparable to that of the iPhone 13 Pro Max, with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 at 39.4%, Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold at 38.5% and Sony's Xperia 1 III at 37.9%.