Snapdragon chip price increased from September, smartphones may be more expensive

(Dan Tri) - If Qualcomm applies a chip price increase from September as reported by Bloomberg, many new smartphone and tablet models may have higher prices than today.

Bloomberg news agency quoted close sources as saying that mobile chip manufacturing company Qualcomm has sent a letter to partners to inform them of the price increase for all versions of the Snapdragon chip line.

The source said that Qualcomm's chip will have an increase expected to be in the double digits (from about 10% or more).

According to Bloomberg, the new price will apply to Snapdragon chip batches shipped by Qualcomm after September 1. This may affect the price of new smartphone and tablet models using these batches of chips.

Phone models using Qualcomm chips will have to increase prices significantly in the near future (Illustration: Instagram).

Qualcomm said the chip price adjustment comes from cost pressure in the supply chain, in the context of rising prices of many electronic components. According to the company, before deciding to increase prices, Qualcomm searched for alternative supply sources to control costs but was not as effective as expected.

Qualcomm's move to increase chip prices is expected to impact the mobile device market. According to Counterpoint Research, Qualcomm's chips are currently used on about 23% of smartphones and 25% of tablets globally, and account for a large proportion of the high-end device segment.

The increase in chip costs may cause some manufacturers to consider adjusting selling prices or component structure to control costs, especially in the high-end segment.

In the popular segment, some analysts believe that companies can promote the use of chips from MediaTek or Unisoc to reduce costs, instead of continuing to use Snapdragon chips in some low-cost models.

Qualcomm is not the only company adjusting prices in the context of rising component costs. Recently, many manufacturers of computers, game consoles and consumer electronics have also increased prices or adjusted product categories.

According to analysts, the need to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure is contributing to increased demand for memory chips and storage devices, causing supply stress.

Large technology companies are expanding their investments in data centers and AI infrastructure, thereby increasing demand for DRAM memory, NAND and storage devices.

Some market reports show that memory prices have increased sharply in recent times. Initially, analysts forecast RAM prices to increase by about 45% in 2025, but the actual increase is expected to be significantly higher. SSD hard drive prices also recorded an increasing trend during the same period.

If component costs continue to remain high, manufacturers may prioritize configurations that bring higher economic efficiency, while narrowing the number of low-cost products that use low memory capacity.