TSMC hikes its prices
TSMC plant in Taïwan. © iStock.
And that’s not great news, because TSMC is the world’s largest chipmaker. This Taiwanese giant produces processors for Apple, AMD, Nvidia, Qualcomm, etc., and even some chips for Intel. TSMC chips are found in an incredible amount of tech products, from graphics cards to computers to phones. Now, all these products are about to get a little more expensive to make: the company plans to increase the price of its high-end chips by around 10% and its lower-end products by around 20%, according to the Wall Street Journal. TSMC and other Taiwanese semiconductor companies had already pushed chip prices by more than 10% sometime between last fall and spring, but as strong demand continues to outstrip supply, TSMC is sharply hiking prices once more. According to the company, the increase should help accelerate its production capacity.
Processors are usually the most expensive components of a device. In the iPhone 12, for example, two of the three priciest parts are its Qualcomm modem and SOC A14, the third being the OLED panel. However, it remains to be seen to what extent electronics manufacturers will pass these increases on to the customer.
⇨ The Verge, Chaim Gartenberg, “TSMC is raising chip prices as supply shortages continue.”
2021-08-26