Samsung’s latest foldable smartphone teardown report shows that the cost of parts accounts for about 40% of the sales price, and the cost is higher than that of Apple (AAPL-US) The latest iPhone is lower, and Samsung uses a large number of local parts to produce this model, and the proportion of local parts reaches about 50%.
“Nikkei News” reported that in terms of parts used in Samsung’s new folding machine Galaxy Z Fold 4, the cost is estimated to be about 670 US dollars, which is less than 40% of the sales price; Apple’s latest flagship iPhone 14 Pro Max this year has a ratio of 46%. This represents a higher profit margin for the Fold 4.
“Nikkei Shimbun” and Fomalhaut Techno Solutions, a Tokyo dismantling professional organization, jointly dismantled the Fold 4 and compared it with other mobile phones.
A teardown of the Fold 4 shows that the phone makes heavy use of Samsung-made parts, including a flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel, which is key to making the foldable.
Although U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm (Qualcomm) (QCOM-US) is the main chip supplier for the Fold 4, but the phone uses Samsung’s memory chips. Almost all major components are provided by South Korean players, for example, batteries are supplied by LG Energy Solution.
In terms of cost, the proportion of Fold 4’s local parts is about 50%, which is twice that of the iPhone. The high proportion of local components makes Fold 4 stand out among non-Chinese high-end mobile phones.
Samsung is benefiting from strong domestic procurement, which ensures a steady supply of its parts and keeps costs down, as manufacturers such as Apple work to diversify their supply chains and reduce geopolitical risks.
Nikkei and Fomalhaut Techno Solutions also dismantled Chinese-made folding machines, especially the relatively expensive Huawei Mate Xs and Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold. The parts cost of these two mobile phones ranges from 30% to 40%, which is the same as the Samsung folding machine, with high profit margins.
Both foldables use Samsung-made OLED panels. South Korean-made parts accounted for 50% and 36% of the cost of Mate Xs and Mi Mix respectively, showing that Chinese manufacturers are highly dependent on South Korean suppliers.