The prices of smartphones could in India and around the world due to an increase soon. According to Xiaomi President Wang Xiang, the mobile industry could soon suffer from a shortage of chips later this year. Last year, due to the pandemic, followed by increased demand, gaming consoles were out of stock due to the shortage of chips. This led to an increased price, even for older generation consoles. According to Reuters, Xiang stated that the chip storage situation could lead to an increase in smartphone prices this year. The Bill of Materials (BOM) has reportedly increased due to the pandemic.
Xiaomi President Wang Xiang says chip shortage could lead to increased smartphone prices
Xiaomi President Wang Xiang has said that the company could soon increase the prices of its smartphones following the shortage of chips.
Since last year, the gaming industry has been experiencing difficulty in getting chip supplies. This is mainly due to a combination of the pandemic effects and an increasing demand. The shortage of chips is increasing the company’s costs, Xiang said. This could lead to increasing the prices of some of Xiaomi’s products this year.
“We will continue to optimise the costs of our hardware devices, that’s for sure,” he said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call. “To be honest, we will do our best to offer the best price we can to consumers. But sometimes, we may have to pass part of the cost increase to the consumer in different cases,” Xiang added.
The shortage of chips has rocked several industries, including the smartphone industry, which has been seeing increased demand as people work from home. Not just the mobile industry but even car manufacturers like Hyundai expect to take a hit due to a shortage of chip supplies.
Qualcomm, a key supplier to Xiaomi, is struggling to meet orders for major smartphone brands. “We are feeling pressure, but we are looking okay,” Wang added, speaking to investors.
