The iPhone 7 costs a lot more for Apple to build than previous phones did

Research firm IHS has conducted its yearly teardown of the iPhone 7, and found that the materials that make up Apple's latest flagship cost an estimated $224.80. Considering that the phone costs $649, that would seem to leave plenty of room for profit!

However, as this chart from Statista shows, that estimation makes the new phone the priciest Apple has made in years - and by a good margin. It's about $13 more expensive than last year's iPhone 6s, and nearly $30 more than 2011's iPhone 4s.

It's also worth remembering that the bill of materials is only a small part of a phone's overall cost. Manufacturing (shown in red), sales and marketing, and R&D all have to be covered as well. Apple's margins will still be huge, but it appears as the iPhone 7's changes are a little more significant than its familiar design would suggest.

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