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We live in an age where flagship smartphones can now easily cost over $1,000. That’s the price we have to pay to own the latest and greatest, but unfortunately, those prices are about to get even higher.
This is because according to a report from Nikkei, it appears that TSMC will be raising their prices for chip manufacturing. For those unfamiliar, TSMC is one of the world’s major chipset suppliers. The company accounts for more than half of worldwide chip production and manufacture for companies like Apple, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm, just to name a few.
Given that Qualcomm’s chipsets also power the majority of Android smartphones out there, the price increase from TSMC’s end will no doubt affect the prices Qualcomm charges their customers, who will then pass those costs down to consumers.
TSMC is said to already cost 20% more than other foundries, but to their credit, they have been slower than others when it comes to raising their prices. The company has pledged to invest as much as $100 billion over the next three years, which is a lot of money, so that could also explain the reasoning behind the price increase.
It’s hard to say how much more expensive our phones will be in 2022, but if you were hoping to see prices go down, it will be the opposite. The company is expected to continue to honor the current price for their current orders, so these changes will most likely be reflected in 2022.
Source: Nikkei
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