Qualcomm is changing product prices due to the ongoing DRAM shortage and increasing supplier costs. Although the company has been trying to cover these costs internally for a long time, it finally decided to increase the price.

According to information shared by Bloomberg, double-digit price increases will be applied for products shipped as of September 1. This situation is expected to especially affect the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro models.

Reasons Behind Cost Increases

Although Qualcomm sought different alternatives to balance the increase in supplier costs, these efforts were unsuccessful. In particular, the high costs of TSMC’s 2nm production technology directly affect the chip manufacturer’s pricing strategy.

According to estimates, 2nm wafer costs, which are around $ 30,000, may cause the unit cost of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro model to exceed $ 300. When combined with LPDDR6 RAM and UFS 5.0 storage units, the component cost alone can reach $ 600 for smartphone manufacturers.

Low smartphone demand and the general contraction in the industry force Qualcomm to invest in different areas such as the automotive division and data center infrastructures. The company plans to offer four new chipset options with 2nm and 3nm architecture to its customers, with the aim of providing more flexibility in this process.

Less Impact Expected in the Standard Model

A more limited price increase is predicted for the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 model, which is planned to be produced in higher volumes, compared to the Pro version. Qualcomm aims to make this model reach a wider user base.

It is claimed that the DRAM crisis will continue its impact for the next few years. This situation causes Qualcomm to reshape its strategy in the portable device market and focus on other revenue-generating technology segments.

How do you think these price increases will be reflected in smartphone prices?