iPhone 13 prices could get pushed up by increased chip production demand
Passing the costs on
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One of the biggest questions around theiPhone 13is how much it will cost:previous rumorshave suggested price points in line with theiPhone 12, but a new leak hints that there might be quite a jump in how much you’ll have to pay compared with the 2020 range of iPhones.
That’s as per a report fromDigiTimes(viaMacRumors), an outlet that has recorded some hits and some misses in terms of getting accurateAppleinformation in advance. If it’s right this time, you might need to save a bit more for your next iPhone upgrade.
The price hike is apparently to cover for the increased cost of components: Apple supplier TSMC is said to be charging its customers up to 20% more for components from January, so Apple has some profit margins to protect.
Supplier and demand
DigiTimes doesn’t go into the reasons why TSMC is putting up its prices, but the increased demand for electronic components is likely to be one of the main reasons, coupled with constrained supplies due to the ongoing pandemic.
As manufacturers have tried to deal with coronavirus restrictions, it’s been causing staffing shortages up and down the supply chain – just about every aspect of the production process has been affected, which is why it’s so difficult to get hold of anything from a games console to a graphics card at the moment.
iPhone 12 pricing currently starts at $699 / £699 / AU$1,199 for the lowest spec’diPhone 12 mini, and goes all the way up to $1,399 / £1,399 / AU$2,369 for the highest spec’diPhone 12 Pro Max. Get ready to pay something above that for the iPhone 13 equivalents.
Analysis: the pandemic continues to cause problems
Apple must have thought the worst was over when it finally pushed the iPhone 12 out in October 2020, a month after it usually unveils its new iPhones every year – all kinds of coronavirus complications meant it couldn’t be unveiled in September as normal.
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The price hikes being put in place by TSMC haven’t been specifically linked to the pandemic, but it’s hard to imagine that the state of the world at the moment hasn’t played some part: all across the globe, people are off sick and being asked to stay at home.
Electronic chips for computers, tablets, phones, cars and everything else are in short supply as a result, and the impact is going to continue for a long time to come. It’s the reason thatGooglehas only been able to make thePixel 5aavailable in the US and Japan.
It looks as though the iPhone 13 will be announced on schedule – September 14 is the likely date, withpre-orders on September 17– but this time around it might be prices rather than timing that the pandemic impacts. Apple will be hoping for a clearer run in 2022 when theiPhone 14appears.
Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.
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