ISLAMABAD: The increasing use of AI, along with the impact of the global “chip war”, is becoming evident even in local markets, as smartphone prices have started to rise.
While Infinix and Tecno have already announced higher rates, other brands, including Vgotel, Vivo, Realme, Oppo, etc., plan to announce new rates in the coming week.
Manufacturers say this is due to the high cost of chipsets.
“The memory chips have become costlier, between 20 and 30 per cent, and all of it is imported,” said Muzaffar Paracha, Senior Vice-Chairman of the Pakistan Mobile Phone Manufacturers Association (PMPMA).
Manufacturers cite higher memory-chip costs, AI-driven demand and global supply constraints for rising handset prices
Manufacturers noted that the cost of memory chips has increased by $20-30 per set. This is because the world is facing a shortage of memory chips.
“There are only three key producers of mobile phones — Apple, Samsung and Chinese brands that dominate world markets,” said Amir Allawala, a senior member of the association.
He added that, due to new developments, the prices of many items are rising rapidly, such as solar panels, ICs, and chipsets, as the world moves towards 5G-compatible mobile devices.
Apart from Samsung and Apple, almost all mobile phone manufacturers globally have been hit by a severe shortage of memory chips.
Most mobile phone chipsets for motherboards, such as processors and memory chips, are produced in Taiwan. Apple and Samsung phones, however, have their own supply lines for memory chips used in their devices.
