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Overpriced? The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra apparently costs just US$528 to build

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G. (Source: Samsung)
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G. (Source: Samsung)
The Galaxy S20 Ultra retails at an overwhelming US$1399 base price point. That's an unreasonable price tag, no? Perhaps. A new report by TechInsights has now provided some much-needed information on exactly how sensible the S20 Ultra 5G's huge MSRP actually is.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra represents Samsung's most ambitious smartphone yet, and that reflects in its ridiculous US$1400 price tag. It's always going to be hard to justify a smartphone costing as much as a premium business laptop, and a new report by TechInsights has now given some...insight into how reasonable the S20 Ultra's price actually is.

According to TechInsights, the Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G costs Samsung US$528.50 to make. That figure accounts for parts prices (BoM), and doesn't cover marketing, labor, or R&D. For some perspective, the Galaxy S10+  cost US$420 to build last year; the Galaxy S9+ cost US$379.5 two years ago; and the OnePlus 7 Pro cost just US$324. The new Mi 10 costs Xiaomi an estimated US$440.

But how do those numbers compare to the phones' MSRPs? The S9+ retailed for US$840 at launch. Bill of Materials (BoM) total accounted for just 45% of that. The S10+ had a launch MSRP of US$999, with its US$420 BoM total accounting for 42% of that figure. The S20 Ultra 5G, however, has a BoM total that accounts for 38% of its MSRP.

From those numbers, it's easy to see that Samsung's profit margins didn't suddenly become a lot larger. There's just a 4% difference in the percentage of BoM total to MSRP between the S10+ and S20 Ultra 5G. However, that doesn't make the phone's massive price tag any easier to swallow. US$1400 for a smartphone is ridiculous no matter how you look at it.

Buy Galaxy S20 5G Unlocked now on Amazon

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2020 03 > Overpriced? The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra apparently costs just US$528 to build
Ricci Rox, 2020-03- 5 (Update: 2020-03- 6)