While MediaTek chipsets have witnessed a surge in demand, the global semiconductor shortage and supply constraints have caused issues in their supply. Now, the company is following the footsteps of other chipmakers and is raising the prices of its processors. As per a report by UDN, the Taiwanese chipset maker has increased the cost of some of its smartphone chips that are in huge demand this month. The hike in their prices is expected to be around 15% to give MediaTek a stronger performance and higher profit amidst the supply issues.
As of now, MediaTek has not revealed any word regarding the price hike of its chipsets. However, sources close to the matter reveal that the company will raise the prices of its smartphone processors.
MediaTek Processors Price Hike
Going by the same, the sources claim that the 4G LTE enabled chips witnessed a sharp price hike as the primary focus of the company is the 5G smartphone market. As of now, 4G chips have a smaller stake in the processor market but the demand for 4G smartphones are still quite high in regions such as India as 5G is yet to be commercialised in these markets.
Also, the order of 4G handsets has made the supply of LTE-enabled smartphones outshine the demand. Similarly, the rival chip maker Qualcomm is also expected to take the prices of its chipsets higher but the same remains unconfirmed.
As per the report, the cost of MediaTek processors will be as high as 15% of the 4G chipsets and 5% of the 5G ready chipsets. The main reason for this move taken by MediaTek is the increase in the overall cost of production by the TSMC foundry. Earlier, the company raised the cost of its Wi-Fi chipsets by nearly 20%. Also, there are speculations that foundries such as Samsung are also eyeing to raise their prices.
Eventually, it goes without saying that the smartphones that will use these chipsets that have witnessed a price hike will also be relatively higher than usual. Already, we have been coming across smartphone price hikes from various brands due to the supply chain shortage.
