Apple’s iPhone 5s “features some cutting-edge components that represent pioneering achievements for the smartphone market while maintaining a nearly identical cost compared to the iPhone 5”, according to a report by IHS.

The 16GB version of the device has a bill of materials (BOM) of $191, with $8 manufacturing expense taking the cost to $199 – compared with $197 for the iPhone 5. The figure for the 32GB iPhone 5s is $208, while for the 64GB model it is $218.

IHS said that although other smartphones have used 64-bit graphics processors, the iPhone 5s is the first with a 64-bit application processor, “an innovation that has major implications for the iPhone and Apple’s other product lines”.

Wayne Lam, senior analyst for wireless communications at IHS, said: “The move to the 64-bit apps processor is largely driven by the need for greater computational power to ensure that the smartphone’s fingerprint sensor works quickly and seamlessly.”

The 64-bit processor also boosts the performance of the device’s camera, allowing for 120 frame-per-second (FPS) video and 10 FPS photo capture.

Despite Apple’s “well publicised feud” with Samsung, the South Korean company remains the manufacturer of the Apple-designed A7 apps processor. This is likely to be because Samsung has a licence for ARM’s 64-bit core architecture, the research firm said.

The iPhone 5 also sees an updated memory to LPDDR3, “marking the first time the IHS Teardown Analysis Service has identified this advanced type of DRAM in an electronic product”.

It was suggested that this “high-speed, cutting-edge memory” has been used “to support the fast processing speeds of the A7”. However, this comes at a price, costing $11.00 for 1GB, compared with $9.50 for the LPDDR2 used in the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c.

The newly-introduced fingerprint scanner also represents an increased hardware cost. The user-interface segment of the iPhone 5s costs $15, compared with $8 for the fingerprint scanner-less iPhone 5c.

The iPhone 5s (and lower cost iPhone 5c) also use a new RF transceiver, which has been updated to support more LTE bands. The Qualcomm WTR1605L RF Transceiver used supports seven simultaneous LTE connections during operations, compared with the earlier Qualcomm  RTR8600L which supported five, IHS said.

One of the most expensive parts of the iPhone 5s – the display and touchscreen subsystem – sees no change, helping Apple to maintain its hardware costs. Japan Display, LG Display and Sharp have been on board as suppliers for the iPhone 5 for more than a year, “allowing Apple to provide them the opportunity to enhance their manufacturing yields and efficiencies”.

There have also not been “any significant advances” with the NAND Flash memory used.