iPhone 13 may not be as affordable as iPhone 12, after all. A new report claims Apple is planning to hike prices for its next-generation smartphone lineup to cover the rising costs of its powerful chipsets.
Apple’s primary chip supplier, TSMC, has reportedly notified all customers that it will be increasing prices by as much as 20%, starting in January 2022.
A recent report from market analysts predicted iPhone 13 would retain the same pricing structure as iPhone 12. Apple is believed to be planning only incremental changes this year that won’t have a major impact on costs.
It seems, however, that analysts did not predict an impending and rather significant increase in the cost of Apple’s mobile chipsets.
iPhone 13 will be pricier to cover A15
“TSMC has reportedly notified customers of price increases by as much as 20% for its advanced and mature process technologies, with the new prices set to be effective starting January 2022,” reads a report from Digitimes.
Sources say that prices won’t increase by quite so much for Apple, which is by far TSMC’s largest customer, buying up more than 20% of its total output. But they are expected to rise by around 3-5%.
TSMC has been manufacturing Apple’s A-series chips for iPhone and iPad for a number of years now. It is expected to remain Cupertino’s sole supplier for the next-generation A15 processor that will power iPhone 13.
A15 will be even faster, more efficient
The A15 is expected to be manufactured using an even more advanced 5-nanometer process. It should lead to faster performance and greater power efficiency over the A14 series of chips introduced with iPhone 12 last fall.
The report doesn’t mention what kind of price increases we should expect for iPhone 13, and it’s worth noting that Digitimes’ track record has been mixed in the past. So, don’t feel too disappointed just yet.
