Galaxy S20 Ultra bill of materials costs $528, cameras cost 1/5 of that

The answer is $528.50, according to Tech Insights‘ preliminary cost analysis of all the Galaxy S20 Ultra's components and bill of materials. Mind you, this cost covers only the components themselves without accounting for labor, assembly costs, shipping, marketing, etc. Nevertheless, the analysis offers a bit of insight as to which components have contributed the most to the Galaxy S20 Ultra's $1,400 price tag.

The Galaxy S20 Ultra's insane camera setup costs $107.50

The main camera of the Galaxy S20 Ultra is the centerpiece of the device. It separates it from the base model and the Galaxy S20+, and it pushes the limits of mobile photography to new heights, at least in some areas. It also turns out that the camera hardware is the most expensive pice of the S20 Ultra puzzle. All of the components related to the phone's cameras cost a total of $107.50. That's $22.50 shy of the full price of an unlocked Galaxy A10e in the United States.

The second-most-expensive component is the chipset with a cost of $81, and the third-most-expensive piece is the display, clocking in at $67.

In contrast, Tech Insights estimated the Galaxy S10+ bill of materials last year to top $420. That's $108.50 less than the cost to produce the Galaxy S20 Ultra, but then again, the Galaxy S10+ doesn't have an insane camera setup that costs over $100. The S10+ camera assembly was valued at $56.50, and it was the third-most-expensive component following the AP/modems and display.

Once again, it's important to keep in mind that the bill of materials is just that. It doesn't cover any additional manufacturing, labor, marketing costs, etc. and it doesn't explain how much net profit Samsung is making for each Galaxy S20 Ultra it's selling.

Nevertheless, there's no denying that the gap between the bill of materials and the launch price is considerably larger for the Galaxy S20 Ultra than it was for the Galaxy S10+. Only Samsung knows if this is the result of higher overall development costs or if it's an ambition to secure higher revenues per each unit sold.