Google’s subsidy of the Nexus 4 rumored to be around $380 per unit

The Nexus 4 is a pretty powerful phone with some pretty impressive hardware, which means that many expected it to cost as much as the high-end phones like the Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC One X and etc. However surprisingly Google priced the Nexus 4 at $299 on its Google Play website, making it an extremely affordable handset for the masses. Then again given that this is a Google phone and with the amount of competition in the market, we guess Google is trying its best to reach as wide an audience as possible. But could Google be losing a ton of money in the process?

While it has yet to be revealed exactly how much each Nexus 4 handset costs to make, it seems that over in Europe, it has been discovered (via TheNextWeb) that LG (the manufacturer of the Nexus 4) is selling the handset to retailers for around €599, a good €300 more than what Google is offering it via the Google Play store, suggesting that the search giant could be subsidizing a whopping ~$380 per unit. Of course until we get the official figures we guess these numbers should be treated as estimates for now.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones, Rumors
Tags: Google, LG, Nexus 4