Smartphone Prices in India Could Rise in Q2 2024 Due to Rising Component Costs: Report

Both Samsung and Micron are expected to raise the prices of a component that could see the cost of smartphones rise in India in the coming months.

Written by David Delima, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 6 February 2024 15:06 IST

Smartphone Prices in India Could Rise in Q2 2024 Due to Rising Component Costs: Report

Photo Credit: Unsplash/ Bruce Mars

The cost of DRAM chips used in smartphones is expected to rise in the coming months

Highlights

Samsung and Micron could raise the price of a memory component soon
The increase in DRAM costs could lead to smartphone prices rising
Recent duty cuts on smartphone components could mitigate rising prices

Smartphone sales have started to pick up in India and other markets according to recent reports, but a change in costs of an essential component could lead to prices of smartphones rising again in the coming months. The cost of memory chips used in handsets sold in the country from two component manufacturers is expected to rise, according to a report. The predicted price rise is likely to impact budget 5G smartphones the most, especially those priced under Rs. 10,000.

According to an ET Telecom report citing recent TrendForce data, the prices of smartphones in India could rise in Q2 2024, as both Micron and Samsung are planning to increase the price of their DRAM chips — a smartphone memory component — by up to 20 percent in the current quarter. The increase in costs is expected to translate into higher smartphone prices in the coming quarter, an anonymous industry executive told the publication.

The market research firm's data reportedly estimates the contract prices of smartphones using the older LPDDR4x technology to rise by up to 8 percent and up to 10 percent for handsets with LPDDR5/ LPDDR5x memory. The report also predicts a shortage of DRAM in the coming months as the hardware is used for other applications like AI.

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While this could translate into higher end-prices, recent duty cuts on smartphone components could partially cushion customers from the anticipated increase in prices, according to the report. Manufacturers could also opt to offer lower memory configurations on their upcoming smartphones in order to keep the costs of their phones low.

As per the report, this strategy could benefit budget 5G smartphone makers, who have recently begun to offer higher RAM and storage configurations at lower prices. By choosing to lower their memory configurations, these companies can ensure that the base models of their budget handsets can be purchased under Rs. 10,000.

Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company's new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Further reading: Smartphones, Smartphone price in India, Samsung, Micron

David Delima

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As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be contacted via email at DavidD@ndtv.com, on Twitter at @DxDavey, and Mastodon at mstdn.social/@delima. More