Qualcomm is hiking prices on its already-expensive Snapdragon chipsets, a move that’s likely to make price hikes on Android devices all the more common.
Bloomberg reports that Qualcomm has informed its customers – many of which are Android phone makers – that it plans to implement price hikes on Snapdragon chips starting with any chips shipped after September 1. The reason provided is that Qualcomm has “exhausted its ability to absorb higher costs from suppliers.”
The exact details are not yet clear, but prices could be going up by “double-digit” percentages. Even if that’s just 10%, it’s a huge blow to already-tight budgets for building Android devices.
While memory costs are the primary way that electronics are being hit by supply shortages, semiconductors are also being hit. It all boils down to the AI industry, which is constructing data centers and other infrastructure at a rapid pace, leaving all parts of component construction strained to their limits.
The exact reason for Qualcomm’s price hike isn’t detailed, but the company detailed that is has “made attempts to secure alternative components from new sources.”
Notably, Qualcomm’s prices have already been going up for several years, with what later became the Snapdragon 8 Elite being a memorable price hike, reportedly up 30% over the prior generation. Rumor has it that Qualcomm is working on a more affordable version of its current flagship, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, with price hikes in mind.
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