Report: Galaxy Note 20 Ultra costs just $549 to make
- The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is reportedly priced at $ 549.
- This number does not include other costs such as research and marketing.
- Anyway, it looks like the company is making a healthy profit.
Manufacturers make a big profit with every premium smartphone sold, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra looks no different.
Counterpoint Research has published its analysis of the bill of materials for the Note 20 Ultra (h / t: SamMobile) and claims the phone is only $ 549. This number includes the apparent cost of components as well as other numbers such as assembly, testing, accessories in the box and the S-Pen.
The bill of materials does not include marketing, licensing, or research and development costs. So Samsung isn’t making ~ $ 750 in profit on the $ 1,300 smartphone, but it still suggests a large profit margin.
Counterpoint’s analysis also shows that the Snapdragon 865 Plus chipset, X55 modem, and various RF components cost Samsung around $ 154. This is likely in line with the cost figures from analysts and Xiaomi. The Chinese company reported earlier this year that the Snapdragon 865 and X55 combo is twice as expensive as the Snapdragon 855 and 4G modem. CEO Lei Jun later said it cost about $ 70 more than the Mi 9’s silicon.
The high cost of 5G
The research firm adds that the mmWave 5G version of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is also significantly more expensive than the sub-6 GHz 5G model. “The mmWave variant costs around 10% more than the sub-6 GHz variant in relation to the total cost of the components,” senior analyst Ethan Qi was quoted as saying.
We’ve also seen before that the mmWave Galaxy S20 lacks microSD storage and offers less RAM than the standard S20, ostensibly due to design and price considerations. It’s unclear whether the mmWave-Note 20 Ultra has suffered similar cuts.
In any case, it is clear that Samsung is making a decent profit with every Galaxy Note 20 Ultra sold. But we have to wait and see if sales actually hold up or if the high price has scared some customers.
Next: Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra revised – The good and the bad, six months later
