NEW YORK (AP) — A research firm that has taken apart a new iPad says it’s more expensive to make than the previous version was when it launched a year ago.
The tablet’s retail price is the same so that means Apple is making less from each sale. Since the first iPad, Apple has been pricing the tablet aggressively, making it hard for competitors to match its features at the same price.
The new iPad went on sale Friday in 10 countries including the U.S., where it starts at $499.
Research firm IHS iSuppli said late Friday that a model with 32 gigabytes of RAM and a cellular modem costs $364.35 to manufacture, 9 percent more than the corresponding iPad 2, which cost $335 to make a year ago.
