New iPhone Cheaper Despite 3G: iSuppli

iSuppli just loves to tear electronics apart so we can know exactly what's inside them - and how much they cost. Their latest teardown analysis, unveiled Tuesday: the new iPhone 3G.

The original 8 GB iPhone set Apple back about $226. The new 3G model costs Apple $173 to build. The savings of $53 equates to 23%, a sizable reduction.

New parts in the 3G model are the Infineon 3G chipset and Broadcom subsidiary Global Locate's GPS unit. However, the Samsung processor, flash memory, and many other components are carried over from the original iPhone, and lower costs there offset the new parts, despite the additional overhead of the necessary $45 in royalties for a 3G license that Apple must pay to Qualcomm et. al.

As Business Week quotes iSuppli analyst Jagdish Rebello, from the analysis:

"They have done a good job in using what worked well with the first one and making improvements where it mattered."

Well, I always figured the iPhone 3G would be evolutionary, as opposed to revolutionary (the iPhone was already that). But as they open up the device (more or less) with their SDK, we should see the revolution on the iPhone come in software, rather than hardware.

For those looking at the new prices for the 8 GB and 16 GB iPhone 3G ($199 and $299, respectively) and saying: hey: $173 is only a $23 profit for Apple, don't worry. Apple gets a sizable subsidy from AT&T, and is making out quite well, despite the dropping of the revenue-sharing provision they used to have with the carrier.

The iPhone 3G is scheduled to arrive on July 11th.