iSuppli is at it at it again--after taking the time to gingerly rip apart an iPhone 4, the market intelligence company has announced that it estimates that the handset's total components cost is in the ball park of $188. According to a story posted by Businessweek, the smartphone contains parts supplied by Broadcom, Samsung and LG. iSuppli believes that the latter of the three companies, LG, is responsible for manufacturing the single most expensive component in the handset, the iPhone 4's retina display. iSuppli estimates the cost of the retina display to be $28.50.
iSuppli's iPhone cost estimate falls close to the estimate they produced for the total component cost of the iPhone 3GS that they delivered bakc in 2009. At the time, the handset's components cost an estimated $179. In the time since it's debut, the 3GS' component costs have dropped to approximately $134 per unit.
