The prices of semiconductor products continue to rise. Nikkei Asia reports that TSMC plans to increase chip prices by up to 10% starting next year, which poses challenges for clients such as Nvidia, Apple, Qualcomm, AMD, and Intel, and consequently for their end consumers.
Prices for TSMC's advanced processing nodes will rise by 5% to 10%, depending on the chip type and the purchasing company. This increase is expected to affect the cost of chipsets for future smartphones, tablets, laptops, and smartwatches.
Worryingly, the price hikes will not be limited to the latest 2nm designs like Google's upcoming Tensor G11. Older nodes, including 12nm, 16nm, and 28nm technologies, will also see increases of up to 10%.
TSMC attributes this price adjustment to the increased costs of materials, manufacturing equipment, and the construction of chip fabrication plants outside of Taiwan.
The planned price increases will take effect at the beginning of 2027, with some months before consumers start feeling the effects in their devices. However, it is inevitable.
This situation has prompted companies like Apple to consider diversifying their chip supply chains, negotiating with firms such as Intel and Samsung. Intel, for instance, aims to produce 80%-90% of its compute tile production for Nova Lake CPUs in-house, moving from a prior plan where 60%-70% would be manufactured by TSMC. Meanwhile, Qualcomm is reportedly contemplating a return to Samsung for its chip needs.
Source (paywall) | Via
