iPhone 5s Build Cost Pegged At $199, iPhone 5c At $173

When a device as popular as the iPhone is torn down by a group like IHS, every little nook and cranny is investigated with great interest. What the team at IHS have found today, shared with AllThingsD today, but will be producing in full tomorrow, is that their teardown has pulled up costs of "at least" $199 for the construction of the iPhone 5s. They've also found that the iPhone 5c must cost Apple around $173 USD to build, citing the display to cost the most for both models.

You'll find our iPhone 5s review to peg the higher-cost model at well and above the worth of the extra $100 you'd spend if you were deciding against the iPhone 5c. The multi-colored iPhone 5c (see our review here) meanwhile takes on a form extremely similar to that of the iPhone 5. Just last year, IHS suggested the iPhone 5 cost Apple around $205 to construct – and these prices all include construction fees too, not just parts.

So you've got the iPhone 5 at $205 and the iPhone 5c at $173, this allowing Apple to sell essentially the same iPhone experience for a full $100 cheaper than it cost last year for consumers. This falls directly in line with the suggestion made by Tim Cook earlier this month in an interview surrounding the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, and iOS 7.

"We never had an objective to sell a low-cost phone. Our primary objective is to sell a great phone and provide a great experience, and we figured out a way to do it at a lower cost." – Tim Cook

You'll find the Moto X to cost Motorola $221 to build while the Samsung Galaxy S 4 cost $236 USD. Again, it's the display that costs the most – this evidenced clearly by the fact that the Moto X and the Galaxy S 4 work with far more plastic than the iPhone 5s, yet cost more to make.