Memory Chip Surge Mounts Pressure on Xiaomi Smartphone Prices
Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi has announced that the sudden surge in memory chip prices has significantly increased its smartphone production costs.
In a statement released on Friday, the company’s President, Lu Weibing, said, “The cost pressure is directly affecting the pricing of new products. Memory chip prices have risen far more than expected, and the situation could become even more complicated.” Reuters reported the development.
On Thursday, Xiaomi unveiled its new Redmi K90 series. The base model, featuring 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, is priced at 2,599 yuan (approximately USD 364), which is 100 yuan higher than last year’s Redmi K80.
Taking into account consumer feedback, Xiaomi announced that the most popular 12GB RAM and 512GB storage variant would receive a 300 yuan discount for the first month, bringing the price down to 2,899 yuan.
It is worth noting that the global demand for AI-based chips has reduced the supply of conventional NAND and DRAM chips used in smartphones and computers. Consequently, manufacturers such as Samsung and SK Hynix are reaping substantial profits amid this supply squeeze.
