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The Galaxy S8 costs more to manufacture than rivaling handsets

by Ben Reid / Apr 21, 2017, 8:44 AM

Samsung has not spared expenses in bringing the Galaxy S8 to fruition

Samsung's Galaxy S8 and S8+ are unquestionably the most eagerly anticipated handsets of the year so far and finally, early adopters are beginning to get their hands on the first batch. The S8 duo's internal hardware ticks most of the flagship boxes, and the general response to the tweaked design has been positive. All this craftsmanship doesn't come cheap, though, and while the S8 and S8+ are unsurprisingly among the most expensive handsets on the market, they also cost more to make than other top-enders.

Research firm IHS Markit has crunched the numbers, and estimates that components of the 64-gig Galaxy S8 have set Sammy back $301.60, with the necessary cost of manufacturing raising the total figure to $307.50. By IHS' calculation, this is $36.29 higher than last year's Galaxy S7 edge, and $43.34 up on the standard Galaxy S7. Given that the S8 starts at around $720, though, it's fair to say that Samsung's mark-ups appear healthy at first glance.

IHS Markit hasn't gotten around to scrutinising the Galaxy S8+ costs as yet. With its larger, 6.2-inch display and higher-capacity battery, it's safe to assume the S8+ is the more expensive to produce—even moreso the elusive 6 GB RAM model.

From the Infinity Display and iris scanner to the Snapdragon 835 chipset as its driving force, Samsung has furnished the new Galaxy S8 with myriad tweaks across the board. The upgrade to 64 GB of base-level storage has also bumped Samsung's costs up, and given how much music, video, app and game content now available to hoard consume, this is a very welcome move.

Even with a hefty price tag, the S8 and S8+ look likely to be a major hit, which begs the question—are you joining the party? Let us know in the comments below and if you're still on the fence, be sure to check our review of the Galaxy S8 and S8+.

The Galaxy S8 in pictures

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source: IHS Markit via AndroidHeadlines

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PhoneArena Rating:

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User Rating:

9.1

Based on 23 Reviews

Display 5.8" 1440 x 2960 pixels

Camera 12 MP / 8 MP front

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, Octa-core, 2350 MHz

Storage 64 GB + microSDXC

Battery 3000 mAh(30h talk time)

View Full specs

PhoneArena Rating:

9.0

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User Rating:

9.4

Based on 17 Reviews

Display 6.2" 1440 x 2960 pixels

Camera 12 MP / 8 MP front

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, Octa-core, 2450 MHz

Storage 64 GB + microSDXC

Battery 3500 mAh(24h 3G talk time)

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22 Comments

1. ShadowSnypa786

Posts: 595; Member since: Jan 06, 2017

Is this surprising?? S7 edge cost more to make than iphone 7 series S6 edge cost more to make than Iphone 6 series Samsung devices always have cost more to produce and generally cost less than Apple devices and even other OEMS, Samsung devices are way better value for money. Can't wait to see how much Apple sell the Iphone 8 with OLED display. probably alot more than the S8 duo.

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 8:49 AM 18

2. Bernoulli

Posts: 4361; Member since: Sep 01, 2012

I highly doubt they'll break their tradition of 650$ so it's safe to assume they've cut off corners elsewhere to minimize the cost, and besides if they increase the price tag I don't see apple losing sales.

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 9:08 AM 3

4. AmashAziz

Posts: 2934; Member since: Jun 30, 2014

I can understand about iPhone.......but; Which 'other OEMS' have more expensive devices than Samsung?

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 9:19 AM 1

5. ShadowSnypa786

Posts: 595; Member since: Jan 06, 2017

Huawei Mate series is really expensive and they hold their prices even Google Pixel phones too. Right now a S8 is £640 brand new. Pixels are still £599 and they over half a year old.

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 9:22 AM 4

6. AmashAziz

Posts: 2934; Member since: Jun 30, 2014

I knew someone would bring the Huawei Mate series, but didn't want to be over-smart by mentioning it. Thing is.....Mate 9 (standard and pro) costs less than S8, in US as far as I know .The Porsche Design model is a special edition just like S7 Batman Injustice Edition, so that shouldn't be counted. And pixel's price wasn't officially reduced by Google, in US. It was $ 649 before, and still is.

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 9:32 AM 0

7. ShadowSnypa786

Posts: 595; Member since: Jan 06, 2017

In the UK you need 600 pounds for a Mate 9 pro so I rather get the newer bigger dsiplay S8 and S8 plus for just 40 pounds more.

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 9:54 AM 0

9. geordie8t1

Posts: 306; Member since: Nov 16, 2015

Also the s8 family come with AKG headphones bundled worth £100 so if u was to deduct the cost of the headphones alone the S8+ would be around £40 CHEAPER then last years S7edge

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 10:49 AM 2

19. TechieXP1969

Posts: 14967; Member since: Sep 25, 2013

No it would not. You're not considering the cost of the more expensive display. The extra cost to make the glass to cover it. The device costs over $300 to make alone...Has nothign to do with the headphones cost. Even if you include what it costs to make the headphones which is probably $10 in materials, you're not including the fact Samsung actually makes the stuff too. The $300 cost is the cost of the parts themselves. Not the cost that comes to make those parts. Paying your own employees and stuff like that. The iPhone when the 6 came out went up $100 just because it was bigger. What advanced features did it have? You also aren't including the face recognition and Iris Scanner which was absent on the S7 edge. You also didn't count that the S is now 64GB and not 32GB. All of that alone is close too $100 in actual manufacturing costs. The Note 7 went up $100 too from the Note 5.

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 2:43 PM 0

8. geordie8t1

Posts: 306; Member since: Nov 16, 2015

On release days the Huawei p10+ was starting at £680 in the uk. And thats for a 5.5" phone...samsungs s8 amd s8+ might appear expensive to some brands but theu are still not top of the pile....the iphone 7+ 256gb model is the top i think at £919

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 10:45 AM 0

18. p51d007

Posts: 705; Member since: Nov 24, 2013

Why I've had two mate phones in my time. Mate2, ran almost 3 years, and this past winter, picked up the Mate8 for around $400. After the 9 was announced, the price of the 8 dropped. Better value in my opinion. Also, when you get the last of the production cycle, usually any "bugs" in hardware/software, are taken care of. First batch production run sometimes has squirrels that need to be fixed.

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 2:01 PM 0

3. Spyro

Posts: 334; Member since: Mar 29, 2017

Well at least they don't spoonfeed like Apple. Kudos to Samsung

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 9:16 AM 9

10. xfire99

Posts: 1206; Member since: Mar 14, 2012

Add all the freebies peoples get too (apps). Free VR headset, expensive included AKG in ear headphone and not talk about 99$ deal with AKG Wireless headphone + 256GB MicroSD card.

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 11:15 AM 3

11. ishaqthkr

Posts: 159; Member since: Mar 26, 2015

I'm not, i have S7 edge, will wait and see what Nokia bring with Nokia 8 and 9

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 11:28 AM 1

12. rubyonrails3

Posts: 375; Member since: Oct 01, 2014

Yes cost more still can't run smooth. If Samsumg had not that display and design it would be fail. Except advertisement sells.

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 11:42 AM 0

13. ShadowSnypa786

Posts: 595; Member since: Jan 06, 2017

Must sells cos Apple and everyone else finally jumping on the bandwagon :D Enjoy your half a second fast phone. OMG wht you gonna do with all that extra time?? Make a cup of tea LOL

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 11:54 AM 1

14. jeroome86

Posts: 2314; Member since: Apr 12, 2012

Thanks PA.

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 12:04 PM 0

15. MrElectrifyer

Posts: 3960; Member since: Oct 21, 2014

Simply 'cause they don't give you last year's hardware at a premium. On top of that, you still have their very versatile software and other gifts worth $500+ that make it so easy to justify the high price tag of their Exynos devices compared to the competition. No wonder they don't make all the money in the smartphone sales; they don't sell inferior and overpriced garbage at a premium. Kudos for such great bang for buck devices Samsung, really looking forward to the Note 8.

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 1:10 PM 2

16. p51d007

Posts: 705; Member since: Nov 24, 2013

This is the thing that gets me. The cost to manufacture these devices, have been in the 200-300 dollar range. But, the RETAIL price has continued to skyrocket, now, approaching 800-1000 dollars. Flat screen TV's, PC's, laptops, pretty much any consumer electronics device, over time, have increase in performance, but the price has come down, but, the smartphone has been able to buck that trend. What gives? Smart manufacturers? Smart marketing? Dumb consumers? Combination?

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 1:59 PM 2

17. TechieXP1969

Posts: 14967; Member since: Sep 25, 2013

The Galaxy has always costed more than any rival handset to make. The S6 was $250. The S7's were $290. The Note 7 was more than the S7 edge. So I expect the S8 costs more too. The extra $100 for the S8 for me is justified. You get a free Gear and you get $100 headphones, the storage is doubled to 64GB and you get the largest resolutions and screen size in its glass. Its beats ANY and every PHONE in photos and more. Then for $99 extra, you get a $579 package which includes $150 headphones, 256GB sdcard that about 299 and the rest is the Gear VR cost. To compare. Apple bought Beats 2 years ago. To cheap to include Beats headphones in the box. Rather push their own. Samsung acquires an audio company and their very first phone comes with premium headphones. Smasung has one upped Samsung again. On my FB feed, CNET posted an article about the S8 and its fancier headphones. You should see all the fanboy haters all trying to crap all over the S8 because they know Smasung has a hit. They all pissed YET AGAIN because Apple and other OEM's have been shown up for what they are. A bunch of cheap product having losers. Samsung spends more money on their products vs nearly all smartphone OEM combined and that includes Apple. Loving my S8+. It is a great Note 7 replacement. But when the Note 8 comes, Samsung is yet again gonna get the haters out in droves. The Note 8 and S8 together are gonna sell way over 120M+ phones. Samsung will sell close to 350M or more phones this year. Even the A and J series are selling in droves! Samsung 2017...BEATMODE!

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 2:00 PM 2

20. perfectnine

Posts: 201; Member since: Mar 11, 2016

Lmao just addressing the earpiece. Apparently it isn't made by AKG. just TUNED by AKG. Iirc LG had several earpieces tuned by AKG before too. It isn't as premium as you think it is

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 9:25 PM 2

21. TechieXP1969

Posts: 14967; Member since: Sep 25, 2013

More premium than Apple Earpods and Airpods.

posted on Apr 21, 2017, 10:53 PM 0

22. ecmedic4

Posts: 520; Member since: May 02, 2013

Is it possible for you to comment just about samsung without bringing Apple into it EVERY time? They are the only other OEM you mention by name in ur rants. I never see you mention any other smartphone OEM by name, just Apple because you feel the need to diss them in every single comment you make almost. Then you want to talk about "all the fanboy haters", well I do hope you know that you are a fanboy hater yourself. Your pretty much the most hypocritical person on this site. I would be very surprised if you could go 1 whole day without dissing Apple. 1 whole day with only posting comments about your god samsung and not including something negative about Apple in them. You'd explode, you couldn't do it. Your literally obsessed with posting negative stuff about Apple EVERY day, in 99% of your comments. You have a serious problem dude, and need help. Differences between us aside, I REALLY do think you need help.