The Entry-Level iPad Air 2 Costs About $275 to Build, Says Report

“Affordable” and “Apple” aren’t usually two words that end up in the same sentence, but the iPad Air 2 is actually quite affordable… to manufacture, anyway.

According to a report published on Re/Code, the entry-level iPad Air 2 — the model with 16 GB of storage and Wi-Fi-only connectivity — only costs Apple about $275 to build. Apple then sells that model for $499, which is a pretty substantial mark-up of $224.

So that’s the lower-end iPad Air 2, but what about the best one you can buy — the 128 GB model with LTE? That one reportedly costs around $358 to manufacture. Apple then sells it for $829. The mark-up there: an astounding $471.

This isn’t news to those familiar with Apple’s family of products. The company’s mobile devices don’t allow additional storage through SD cards, so Apple is free to put a premium on higher-capacity smartphones and tablets. This year brought us the best deal thus far, as it’s only $100 extra to jump from a 16 GB iPhone or iPad to a model with 64 GB of space — but the fact stands that Apple is making a boatload on very cheap flash storage.

How is the iPad Air 2, by the way? I just nabbed one several days ago and have been putting it through its paces. I’ll have a review up in the very near future.

In the meantime, what do you think about Apple’s profit margin on these new iPads? Drop us a line below.