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The often-repeated $152.47 figure was a 2014 IHS Technology estimate for Google Glass components and manufacturing—not a complete accounting of what Google spent to develop and sell the device. It cannot be subtracted from the Explorer Edition’s $1,500 launch price to calculate profit.
How much did Google Glass cost to make?
IHS Technology estimated the direct materials and manufacturing cost at $152.47 in 2014. Its breakdown, reported by Electronics360, was:
| Cost category | IHS estimate | What it represents |
|---|---|---|
| Direct materials | $132.47 | Estimated component and material cost |
| Manufacturing | $20 | Estimated manufacturing cost |
| Total | $152.47 | Materials plus manufacturing, not a full product cost |
This was a teardown-based estimate, not Google’s audited cost accounting. The estimate was intended to describe identified hardware and manufacturing inputs, not every expense required to bring Glass to market.
What was included in the IHS estimate?
The IHS component accounting identified the titanium frame as its largest single component, at about $22, and the Himax LCOS projector display at an estimated $20. It put the value of identified Texas Instruments components—including the processor and power-management and audio-related parts—at $37.90. These are estimates within IHS’s analysis, not independently verified purchase prices. IEEE Spectrum’s summary describes the component findings.
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Why $152.47 does not show Google’s profit
IHS excluded major costs beyond the hardware and manufacturing estimate, including software, licensing, royalties, engineering, tooling, and other upfront expenses. Those categories matter because a product’s full costs are not captured by adding up the parts found in a teardown and estimating assembly.
TIME reported the Explorer Edition’s price as $1,500 in 2014, but that retail price and IHS’s $152.47 estimate measure different things. Subtracting one from the other would not produce Google’s per-unit profit: the calculation would omit excluded development and business costs, among other factors, and the teardown estimate was not an audited unit-cost figure.
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As Andrew Rassweiler, then IHS senior director of cost benchmarking services, put it: “As in any new product—especially a device that breaks new technological ground—the bill of materials (BOM) cost of Glass represent only a portion of the actual value of the system.”
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Yes. TIME recorded Google’s contemporaneous response to the IHS estimate: “While we appreciate another attempt to estimate the cost of Glass, this latest one from IHS… is wildly off,” and “Glass costs significantly more to produce.” The quoted ellipsis appears in TIME’s rendering; Google did not provide a revised cost figure in that response. TIME’s May 2014 report covers the dispute.
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How did TechInsights’ estimate differ?
TechInsights published a separate teardown estimate that changed between its April and May 2014 analyses. Its figures and stated exclusions show why teardown totals depend on assumptions and scope; they should not be treated as directly interchangeable with IHS’s estimate.
| TechInsights analysis | Estimate | Scope note |
|---|---|---|
| April 14, 2014 | $79.78 | Earlier teardown estimate; component assumptions were later revised |
| May 14, 2014 | $105.31 | Later estimate, with revised display and assembly estimates |
| Excluded items in its analysis | Roughly $20 additional, combined | Titanium frame, optional lens kit, and limited-edition packaging |
TechInsights listed these estimates and scope details on its Google Glass teardown page. Its figures are not a correction that makes one number definitive: the analyses used different component identification, assembly assumptions, and inclusion boundaries. Neither source establishes Google’s full production cost.
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Was Google Glass a 90% profit product?
The $152.47 estimate does not establish that. A teardown can help readers understand which physical components were identified and how a particular analyst estimated their cost. It cannot, by itself, establish a manufacturer’s complete cost base or per-unit profit. The defensible conclusion is narrower: IHS estimated $152.47 for materials and manufacturing in 2014, while Google disputed that estimate and TechInsights published a different figure under a different scope.
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