Post author here. Here’s what prompted me to write it: Tracy Kidder’s book says that a NAND gate cost eight cents in 1981. The latest iPhone has 11.8 billion t

Post author here. Here’s what prompted me to write it: Tracy Kidder’s book says that a NAND gate cost eight cents in 1981. The latest iPhone has 11.8 billion transistors. So the chip at the heart of each phone is $1.4 billion in parts, no margin. That’s 1981 prices, 2021 money accounting for inflation.