Phones, Laptops To Cost More: World's Largest Chip Maker TSMC Hikes Prices By 20 Percent

• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is expected to raise prices of its advanced chips by 10 percent and less advanced products by 20 percent. 
• In case you were wondering if you’d be safe from this price hike, TSMC is responsible for chips that power devices by Apple, Qualcomm, Nvidia as well as a few offerings by Intel.
• They’re also the manufacturer of key electrical components in modern cars, so this price hike is expected to affect more individuals than one might expect.
• The chances are slim that all electronics that would be using these new chips will undergo a massive price hike, as there are several other factors that contribute to the final price apart from core hardware prices

The gadgets that we love and adore so much are expected to get more expensive in the coming few months as the world’s largest chipmaker TSMC has now announced that it would be raising its manufacturing prices. Reported first by Wall Street Journal, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is expected to raise prices of its advanced chips by 10 percent and less advanced products by 20 percent.  In case you were wondering if you’d be safe from this price hike, TSMC is responsible for chips that power devices by Apple, Qualcomm, Nvidia as well as a few offerings by Intel. They’re also the manufacturer of key electrical components in modern cars, so this price hike is expected to affect more individuals than one might expect. The chances are slim that all electronics that would be using these new chips will undergo a massive price hike, as there are several other factors that contribute to the final price apart from core hardware prices (as highlighted by The Verge), so the price hike for some components cannot be so steep.

But iPhone prices are expected to rise

Yesterday, we saw reports that highlighted that the upcoming iPhone 13 series are going to sell at a considerably higher price tag to mitigate the TSMC price hike. This is because for manufacturing an iPhone, Apple is experiencing a price hike on two out of its three most expensive components -- the Qualcomm 5G modem and A14 chipset that would power the phone. What compounds this is the fact that TSMC is the only chipmaker that can deliver the advanced chip manufacturing that Apple demands for its A series chips for iPhones and M series for the Macs. Moreover, Tim Cook, in Apple’s last earnings call, had warned that chip shortage could be hitting iPhones and other Apple devices this year, specifically for devices running on older, less advanced chips. (Source: India Times)