Get this. You know Google Glass, the futuristic headset that sells for $1,500? According to a new report from TechInsight's Teardown.com, the high-tech headpiece only costs around $80 to produce.
The site secured a pair of the pricey specs and then ripped them apart, piece by piece, to determine the estimated price of each component. The surprising finding? Their preliminary analysis revealed that the bill of materials for all the parts and pieces used to make Google Glass adds up to a measly $79.78.
The most expensive component used in Glass is the Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 applications processor, which comes in at around $13.96. The display, touch screen, and glass cost just $3, while the battery comes in at $1.14, and the camera is worth $5.66. Non-electrical material used in the device costs $13.63, while the 16GB of NAND flash memory from Toshiba totals $8.18, and assembly and testing comes in at $2.15.
Google, meanwhile, says Teardown.com's assessment is not accurate.
"The estimate is wrong," a Google spokesperson told PCMag.com in an email. "The Glass Explorer Edition costs significantly more to produce."
Meanwhile, Teardown.com warned that it's still examining the headset and its initial figures are just a rough estimate that will likely change when it gets a closer look.
The bill of materials also doesn't include the research and development costs that went into making the device, or the cost of developing any of the apps and services that run on it.
For more on Teardown.com's analysis, check out the chart below. Also see PCMag's full review of the Google Glass Explorer Edition Version 2.0, which received a "good" rating of three-out-of-five stars.
Meanwhile, Google recently debunked some of the most common "myths" about its high-tech specs — and admitted that they're not quite ready for prime time.
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