Apple customers may be faced with rising prices for their favorite Apple prices, as the Cupertino firm will be forced to pay more for the chips it uses and may pass along the additional costs to its customers.
Sources speaking to Nikkei Asia say TSMC (Apple’s main chip supplier), is in the process of increasing prices due to higher inflation in the industry, which is caused by the global chip supply shortage. The planned price hikes are expected to be the most substantial price hikes in a decade.
While TSMCs prices were already more expensive than prices from its direct rivals, the chip fabricator has designated $100 billion in new investment over the next three years. This will require the company to pass its increased costs onto its customers. TSMCs smaller competitors have all increased prices due to higher production costs.
TSMC is working to prevent its customers from ordering more chips than they actually need in the hope to secure production line space. Clients will be required to negotiate specific production terms before the official price rise on October 1.
The increased production costs are expected to be “noticeable” when it comes to the retail prices of smartphones and computers in the coming year.