Considering purchasing a smartphone? According to a report from the Economic Times, smartphone prices in India could see a hike in June.
It is believed that the price hike is due to an increase in memory chips and the strengthening of the Chinese Yuan, China’s official currency. As a result of these factors, smartphone prices could increase by 10 to 15 percent, according to the report.
As reported by Economic Times, Trendforce has warned that the price of DRAM (memory chips) is on the rise, due to price increases from Samsung and Micron. It is expected that this will also affect device prices, according to Trendforce.
Additionally, an industry executive told ET they expect a 15% increase in memory prices, which could eventually lead to an increase in smartphone prices.
Customers will, however, benefit from the recent reduction in import duty tax on mobile phone components, which could balance out the price hike. Just a day before presenting the interim budget, the Indian government reduced import duties on key components used in mobile manufacturing.
The import duty on various components critical to mobile manufacturing was reduced from 15% to 10%. It was an interim budget and the actual Union Budget will be presented in June after the new government is sworn in.
Considering these predictions are based on current trends, it remains to be seen if the price hike occurs.
