The Samsung Galaxy S8 is a great phone, but it's a pricey one too. To get that premium Android experience, with that wraparound 'infinity' display, Exynos 8895 processor and quality camera smarts, you're looking at a price tag of £689 / $750 / AU$1,199.
But, in Samsung's defense, that high cost is at least in some part justified. According to IHS Markit analyst estimates, all those components don't come cheaply for Samsung either.
The report estimates that Samsung is paying $301.60 in parts for the Galaxy S8. Add $5.90 in basic manufacturing costs, and you've a cost (before marketing is factored in) of $307.50 for the new Android flagship.
Bill of materials
That makes it an estimated $43.34 more expensive than Samsung's Galaxy S7, and substantially more costly than rivals the Apple iPhone 7 (with an estimated build cost of $224.80) and Google Pixel XL ($285.80).
Arms race
“The higher total [bill of materials] costs for the Galaxy S8 seem to be part of a trend that reflects something of an arms race in features among Apple, Samsung and other phone manufacturers, as they all try to add new and distinguishing hardware features,” said Andrew Rassweiler, senior director of cost benchmarking services for IHS Markit.
"While there are new non-hardware features in the Galaxy S8, such as a virtual assistant called Bixby, from a teardown perspective the hardware in the Galaxy S8 and that of the forthcoming new iPhone is expected to be very similar.”
Will Apple's iPhone 8 buck this pricey trend? We'll keep you posted on how this year's smartphone arms race pans out.
- "A triumph of tech and design" – our full Samsung Galaxy S8 review
