Here's What It Costs Apple To Make Your $1,000 iPhone X

As the holiday shopping season kicks off, there's excitement surrouding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s latest iPhone. The phone, which was introduced in mid-September, went on sale worldwide Nov. 2.

The premium pricing the iPhone X commands has become a subject of debate amid Apple enthusiasts and analysts alike. Priced at $999 in the U.S., the iPhone X packs in a lot of product features that might justify the pricing.

Today's high-end smartphones are as powerful as many PCs, leading some to argue that comparable pricing makes sense, Statisa said.

Statista's Felix Richter broke down the production cost of the iPhone X as well as Apple's earlier iPhones using estimates provided by IHS. The estimates account only for the direct manufacturing costs such as components and labor — leaving out R&D and marketing expenses.

Input costs for the iPhone X (64 GB) amounted to $370.25, or roughly 37 percent of its price, according to Statisa. 

Source: Statista

The direct cost of the 64 GB iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 8 is $295.44 and $254.87, respectively, with these estimates including both the cost of materials and manufacturing. The fourth-generation iPhone 4S (16 GB) costs $196 to produce, according to Statista.

The Statista article expressed doubts regarding the accuracy of the estimates, and said Apple CEO Tim Cook once said he's "never seen [an estimate] that is anywhere close to being accurate." 

Despite the talk of exorbitant pricing, the iPhone X looks like a surefire winner. Though Apple has not provided any numbers yet, the website ZDNet said the phone has managed to capture a share of 1.42 percent after two weeks, based on data from the mobile engagement platform Localytics. This compares to the 2.7-percent share the iPhone 7 held two weeks after it launched. 

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Photo courtesy of Apple.