There’s already a preliminary breakdown of expected component and manufacturing costs for the iPad Mini, a tablet that’s likely to debut on Tuesday, October 23rd. It appears that Apple will spend about $195 to $254 in order to build the new model of 7.85 inch tablet, that will apparently sell for a lower price than usual, $299, according to rumors.
Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities mentioned in a recent research note to investors that the bill for the materials used for the manufacturing process of the iPad Mini could go from $195 for the 16 GB WiFi unit to $254 for the 64 GB 4G LTE one. These numbers were compared to the leaked retail prices for the tablet from the UK retailers. If the prices are real, Apple will get gross profit margins of 35% to 58%, lower than other iDevices. The most expensive component from the iPad Mini is the screen, priced at $56.50, that includes the touch sensor, cover glass and other pieces of hardware used for it.
The panel is said to use a new technology dubbed GF Dito, that allows the device to be 18% thinner than the normal and big iPad. The iPad Mini logic board is second in cost, priced at around $54 for the WiFi only unit and $80 for the 4G LTE model. Kuo expects Apple to use the same Qualcomm baseband chip on the new iPad, going for $24 a pop. Finally, from the same expert we learn that the new slate may use a tweaked version of the Apple A5X SoC, that powers the iPad 3, although the iPad Mini will use a chip built on the 32 nm process.
So, is Apple ready to gain so little from its units, or will they offer us a bigger price for a bigger profit, something like $350 for starting price?
