Mobile-Laptop Price Hike: Buying Gadgets Soon? Here’s Why You’ll Pay More

Thinking of buying a new smartphone or laptop? You might want to read this first. Gadget prices are all set to increase, and we've got the full story on why your wallet is going to feel the pinch.

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Mobile, Laptop Prices Are Going to Rise

AI companies need a massive amount of data storage and processing power to train their chatbots and various AI models. To do this, these companies are buying up memory and storage chips in huge quantities. Three main companies—Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron—produce most of these chips. This huge demand from AI firms has created a shortage of chips for regular electronic devices, causing their prices to shoot up.

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Apple Gave a Signal About the Price Hike

Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, recently hinted in an interview that the prices for upcoming MacBooks, iPhones, and iPads are likely to increase. He pointed out that memory chip prices have gone up by four times compared to previous years. Tim Cook also mentioned that the price of a single chip used in data centres has jumped from $350 to as high as $1300.

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Oppo, Vivo, Samsung Phones Won't Escape

Memory chips make up about 8 to 12 percent of the total cost of making a smartphone. Since November 2025, smartphone prices have been on the rise, with some models even doubling in price. Oppo and Vivo are continuously launching new smartphones in India. Besides them, the price of Samsung's upcoming foldable smartphone is also expected to increase. On top of all this, the falling value of the Indian rupee against the dollar also plays a part. Companies in India buy these chips in dollars, so a weaker rupee increases their import costs. This extra financial burden will ultimately be passed on to us, the consumers. This means we will have to spend more money to buy smartphones, laptops, and other electronic gadgets.