The BOM is a shock, but Apple asking double this cost or more from consumers perhaps isn’t so surprising.
Apple’s highly anticipated Reality Pro VR headset is expected to be one of the star attractions at WWDC23 next month. Previous rumors have pointed to Apple making a characteristically premium priced entry, with a consumer price of ~$3,000 per device. Now a report has been published suggesting that the bill of materials (BOM) required to build one of the new Apple head mounted displays (HMDs) will be in the region of about $1,500, in total. Remember, the BOM is Apple’s base product component and manufacturing cost, so there are lots of things to add to that to get to a retail price.Some of the most expensive components in the headset, according to the BOM data sets revealed, are: OLED screens at approx $300, processors at approx $130, the cameras (14 in total) at $160, and the metal chassis at approx $95.
