According to a report recently published by Tech Insights, it turns out that the total cost of procuring the parts and the process of assembling the components for one of Samsung’s flagship device offerings -- the Galaxy S9 Plus -- is estimated at $379 per unit. That is a full ten bucks higher than the production cost per unit of last year’s flagship phablet, the Galaxy Note 8, and $36 more than the Galaxy S9 Plus’ predecessor, the Galaxy S8 Plus.
As pointed out by Tech Insights’ report, the difference in cost can be attributed to the Galaxy S9 Plus’ camera specifications -- after all, this particular saw Samsung incorporate a second sensor that allows users to zoom and adjust the aperture in order to enjoy flexibility in conditions of varying light. The camera related costs thus equates to $48 for the Galaxy S9 Plus, compared to $40.50 for the Galaxy Note 8 (which by the way is also fitted with a second camera sensor) and $32 for the Galaxy S8 Plus (which featured only a single camera sensor).
Despite the significant increase in the cost to build each unit of the Galaxy S9 Plus, it still can not beat the $389.50 that Tech Insights approximated for one of Apple’s current flagships -- the iPhone X. This should not be too surprising -- Apple after all had to really invest big in making sure the iPhone X delivers with its Super Retina display, featuring an organic light emitting diode (OLED) screen.
The Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9 Plus devices hit store shelves everywhere last Friday. To know more about pricing and availability, go ahead and visit this earlier post.
Meanwhile, SquareTrade, a company that specializes in providing insurance options for electronic devices (including smartphones), has recently put Samsung’s two newest high end handsets to a series of drop tests. Overall, the Galaxy S9 models appear to have fared better than the iPhone X and last year’s Galaxy S8 devices, but those who own (or are planning to) the new Galaxy flagships should still avoid dropping their units if they can help it.
Samsung has highlighted the new and improved Infinity Display of the Galaxy S9 devices, saying that the thicker screen design should allow for more durability. But based on the results of SquareTrade’s drop tests, the latest addition to the Galaxy lineup of premium phones still sustained significant damage not only in drop tests but in tumble tests as well.
To know more about SquareTrade’s drop tests, check out the video they posted on YouTube.
