Planning to buy a smartphone? It might be a good idea to complete your purchase in this quarter as smartphone prices in India could see a hike in price starting April, according to a report from Economic Times.
The report indicates that the reason behind this price hike from the second quarter (which starts from Apr to June) is an increase in memory chips coupled with the strengthening of the Chinese Yuan, China’s official currency. These two factors will likely negatively impact smartphone prices, and could result in hikes of 10 to 15 per cent, adds the report.
Why Will Smartphones Get More Expensive?
According to Economic Times, market research firm Trendforce has pointed out that there is an increase in prices of DRAM (memory chips) prices, as two key suppliers Samsung and Micron will likely implement a price increase starting March. Trendforce expects this to impact device prices eventually.
The ET report also quotes an industry executive as saying they expect a 15 per cent increase in memory prices, which could eventually lead to a hike in smartphone prices overall.
However, it should be noted that there will be some relief for customers as the price hike could be balanced out by the recent reduction in import duty tax on mobile phone components. The Indian government reduced import duties on key components used in mobile manufacturing on January 31, just a day before presenting the interim budget.
This brought down the import duty from 15% to 10% on various components crucial for mobile manufacturing. Do note that it was an interim budget and the actual Union Budget will be presented in June after the new government is elected.
Of course, it remains to be seen if the price hike does take place, given these predictions are based on current trends.
