A couple of weeks ago, it was reported that Apple’s chipset manufacturer, TSMC, was planning on raising its price by as much as 20%. This led to concerns and speculation that this price increase would then be passed down to consumers, leading to a more expensive iPhone. However, there is some good news on that front.
If the rumors are true, a report from ITHome has revealed that TSMC seems to have made an exception for Apple where instead of charging them 20%, they will apparently be increasing their price by just 3%. This means that while future iPhones will be more expensive, it won’t be the 20% price jump that many have feared.
Given how much business Apple gives TSMC, we can’t say we’re too surprised, but at the same time, we imagine that TSMC’s other customers like Qualcomm and NVIDIA will be too pleased. It is possible that TSMC might have made deals with other bigger customers to not charge them the full 20%, but since those deals are usually confidential, we won’t know for sure.
Apple’s iPhones are already not cheap by any means, so even though 3% is not the full 20%, it will still mean a pricier iPhone. Exactly how much more expensive remains to be seen, but Apple is expected to announce the handset this month, so we should have more details soon.
Filed in . Read more about iPhone, SoC and TSMC. Source: phonearena