Google Glass costs less than £50 in parts to make, a teardown of the techy eyewear’s components has revealed.
However, despite this budget building cost, Google’s futuristic glasses retail in the US for a staggering $1,500 (£887), a mark-up of almost 1,800 per cent.
While this of course does not take into account development costs, manufacturing fees and marketing budgets, there still seems to be something of a sizeable discrepancy.
Currently one of the most talked about devices in all of tech land, Google Glass’ component costs have been discovered by TechInsights who, having purchased a Google Glass headset during the recent one day consumer sale in the States, gave it a comprehensive teardown.
What was found will be surprising to many. Despite pushing the boundaries of wearable technology, the range of Google Glass components have a retail cost of just $79.78 (£47.21).
The most expensive Glass component is the Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 processor at the princely sum of $13.96 (£8.27).
Despite having offered Glass to the general public for one day earlier this month, Google has long stated that when given a widespread release, the eyewear will be considerably cheaper than the $1,500 development units.
With Google Glass’ internals costing under £50 in total, we would like to see the device cost no more than £200 in the UK – although we feel this might be hugely optimistic.
Read More: Google Nexus 5 review
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
