Qualcomm Raising Chip Prices Starting Tomorrow

Starting tomorrow, Qualcomm plans to raise prices for its chips by double digits. The company disclosed this price increase back in July, informing customers that the hike would apply to chips shipped after September 1. Qualcomm attributes the need for the price hike to the escalating costs imposed by its suppliers. CEO Cristiano Amon explained in an interview with Reuters that Qualcomm must absorb these costs, as it cannot sustain them any longer.

While Apple has been transitioning to its own modem chips, it still relies on Qualcomm for modem chips in the iPhone 17 models. Apple is set to discontinue the iPhone 17 Pro models when the iPhone 18 Pro launches in September, but it is likely to retain the iPhone 17 in the lineup. The iPhone 17e and iPhone Air use Qualcomm's C1X modem, and certain iPhone 18 Pro models and the foldable iPhone may potentially utilize a new Apple-designed C2 chip, offering faster 5G speeds.

According to leaked iPhone 18 Pro documents from Tata Electronics, Apple might still depend on Qualcomm for modem chips in the United States.

Other factors, such as rising costs of DRAM and storage due to supply issues, have also led to price hikes across the industry, impacting numerous device manufacturers. Apple increased the prices of Macs and iPads in June, and the iPhone 18 Pro models are anticipated to be more expensive than their predecessors. In July, Amon also informed that Qualcomm anticipates its revenue from Apple to decline significantly, by around 50 percent from the September quarter to the December quarter.

He cited supply constraints as the primary reason, which will reduce the share of Qualcomm components in the iPhone 18 lineup.

Besides supplying modem chips to Apple, Qualcomm manufactures mobile chips for Samsung and other smartphone manufacturers. Qualcomm is raising prices across its entire product range, and these increases will be negotiated with customers on an individual basis.