All in all it takes Samsung $307.50 to manufacture each unit of the Galaxy S8, which is $43.34 higher than the Galaxy S7. Such a steep rise in the BOM is likely due to the use of the Infinity Display which is not only bigger but also expensive to manufacture. Then there is also the iris scanner which is pretty expensive to manufacture. However, since Samsung is using the same camera setup as the Note 7 and Galaxy S7, it should be saving some money on that front.
“The higher total BOM costs for the Galaxy S8 seem to be part of a trend that reflects something of an arms race in features among Apple, Samsung and other phone manufacturers, as they all try to add new and distinguishing hardware features,” said Andrew Rassweiler, Senior Director of Cost Benchmarking Services for IHS Markit. “While there are new non-hardware features in the Galaxy S8, such as a virtual assistant called Bixby, from a teardown perspective the hardware in the Galaxy S8 and that of the forthcoming new iPhone is expected to be very similar.”While the cost of the individual components is not available, IHS estimates that the NAND flash memory and the DRAM combined cost Samsung $41.50, with the 3000mAh battery coming in at a mere $4.50.
Samsung charges around $720 for an unlocked variant of the Galaxy S8. Before you jump to a conclusion and start accusing Samsung of ripping off its customers, remember that this is only the BOM of the handset. It does not include the transportation, shipping, support, and marketing charges that Samsung has to entail to get the devices to your nearest retail store.
Source : IHS