Abstract:
Qualcomm announced that starting from September 1, the prices of its chip products will increase by double digits. The company notified customers in advance in July this year that all chips shipped after September 1 will be subject to the new price. CEO Cristiano Amon said in an interview with Reuters that as supplier costs continue to rise, the company can no longer bear all the increased expenses on its own. The price adjustment is mainly to pass on the significantly increased costs to customers.
Apple has been promoting the development of self-developed baseband chips in recent years, but it still purchases modem chips from Qualcomm for the iPhone 17 series. With the iPhone 18 Pro expected to be released in September this year, Apple may discontinue the iPhone 17 Pro series, but the standard iPhone 17 is expected to continue to be sold.
iPhone 17e and iPhone Air already use Apple’s self-developed C1X modem. Market rumors indicate that some iPhone 18 Pro models and Apple’s folding screen iPhones may be equipped with a new generation of self-developed C2 chips to achieve faster 5G speeds. However, according to iPhone 18 Pro-related documents leaked by Tata Electronics, Apple may continue to use Qualcomm modem chips in the US market.
Affected by tight supply, DRAM memory and storage chip prices have risen recently, and have affected most equipment manufacturers. Apple raised the prices of some Mac and iPad products in June, and the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro series is also expected to be more expensive than the previous generation models.
Amon also revealed in July this year that Qualcomm’s revenue from Apple is expected to decline faster than previously expected, and may decrease by approximately 50% from the September quarter to the December quarter. He attributed the change to supply constraints, which may result in a lower proportion of Qualcomm chips being used in the iPhone 18 series.
In addition to Apple, Qualcomm also supplies mobile chips to Samsung and other smartphone manufacturers. This price increase will cover Qualcomm's entire product line, and the specific increase and adjustment plan will be determined by Qualcomm through consultation with each customer.
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