Samsung Electronics raised factory prices for budget smartphones in India due to soaring component costs. Some models saw price hikes of more than 20%. Earlier, Samsung Electronics raised prices for high-capacity flagship smartphones in Korea and the United States, and the chipflation (memory + inflation) effect is now spreading to budget models.
According to the industry on the 14th, Samsung Electronics recently increased prices for budget smartphones sold in India. For example, the price of the "Galaxy F17 5G" 128GB (4GB RAM) model rose more than 24% from 14,499 rupees (about 230,000 won) to 17,999 rupees (286,000 won). This model was released locally in September 2023. The "Galaxy A17 5G," released in August of the same year, rose 19.4% from 17,999 rupees (285,000 won) to 21,499 rupees (341,200 won).
The "Galaxy A56 5G" 128GB (8GB RAM) increased from 38,999 rupees (619,000 won) to 42,999 rupees (683,000 won), and the price of the "Galaxy A36 5G" 128GB (8GB RAM) rose from 30,999 rupees (492,000 won) to 33,999 rupees (540,000 won), up about 10% each. The "Galaxy A06 5G" 64GB (4GB RAM) went up from 12,499 rupees (198,000 won) to 13,499 rupees (214,000 won).
A smartphone industry official said, "It is unusual for Samsung Electronics, the world's No. 1 smartphone maker, to raise prices even for older budget smartphones," and added, "It shows how much pressure manufacturers are under from rising component prices."
Roh Tae-Moon, president of Samsung Electronics (head of the MX Business Division), said in an interview with Reuters earlier this year about the surge in prices due to a global memory shortage, "No company is free in an unprecedented situation," and noted, "In some form, it will have a certain impact on the products the company sells." In response, Samsung Electronics unveiled the Galaxy S26 series in February at higher prices than the previous models. Starting this month in the United States and elsewhere, the starting price of the "Galaxy A57" was set at $549.99 (816,000 won), $100 higher than its predecessor.
According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, in the first quarter of this year, prices for mobile DRAM and NAND flash rose more than 50% and 90%, respectively, from the previous quarter. For budget smartphones with wholesale prices under $200, equipping 6GB of DRAM and 128GB of NAND flash was estimated to have increased manufacturing costs by 25% in the first quarter compared with the previous quarter. In this case, memory accounts for 43% of the total cost. For midrange smartphones in the $400–$600 range, based on 8GB of DRAM and 256GB of NAND flash, DRAM and NAND accounted for 14% and 11% of costs in the first quarter. In the second quarter, they are expected to rise to 20% and 16%, respectively.
Premium and flagship models with wholesale prices above $800 are facing cost pressure due to high-capacity memory and the latest 2-nanometer-class mobile application processors (AP). Counterpoint Research projected that for flagship models equipped with the latest 16GB DRAM and 512GB NAND, costs in the second quarter of this year would rise by about $100 to $150.
In Korea, Samsung Electronics has so far raised prices only for high-capacity flagship models. Starting this month, it increased the factory price of the "Galaxy Z Flip7" 512GB, released in July last year, from 1,643,400 won to 1,738,000 won, and the "Galaxy Z Fold7" 512GB model from 2,537,700 won to 2,632,300 won. The Fold7 1TB model rose from 2,933,700 won to 3,127,300 won, an increase of 193,600 won. The "Galaxy S25 Edge" 512GB model, released in May last year, also saw its price raised from 1,639,000 won to 1,749,000 won.
Samsung Electronics also raised prices in the United States, focusing on high-capacity flagship models, by $80 (119,000 won). This month, it increased the factory price of the "Galaxy Z Flip7" 512GB in the United States from $1,219 to $1,299, and the "Galaxy Z Fold7" 512GB model from $2,119 to $2,199. The Fold7 1TB model was priced at $2,499, up $80 from before.
Smartphone makers are announcing a series of price increases under chipflation pressure. Xiaomi raised prices for some smartphones, including its budget brand "Redmi," by 200 yuan (about 40,000 won) starting on the 11th. Lu Weibing, president of Xiaomi Group, recently said, "In the first quarter, memory prices nearly quadrupled from a year earlier, making price increases inevitable." Last month, China's Vivo and Oppo also raised prices.
A Samsung Electronics spokesperson said, "We inevitably raised product prices due to the recent surge in key component prices and the rise in exchange rates." However, the spokesperson added, "There are no confirmed plans at this time to raise prices for budget models in Korea."