- Huawei has indicated it plans to increase phone prices, responding to pressure from increasing memory and component costs.
- This follows a series of hikes from multiple phone brands, including Apple, Samsung, and Google.
- Huawei also predicts a tough time for the smartphone industry overall, noting that budget offerings will be hit hardest.
The impact of rising component costs on consumer electronics doesn’t seem to be softening and could soon envelop more brands. After several phone brands, including Apple, Google, and Samsung, have raised prices on their newest models, Huawei is reportedly on the same track.
Huawei’s chairman of consumer business, Richard Yu, recently told Chinese media that it expects to raise prices for its products, but only to a “moderate” extent. Yu was quoted by the media (via Bloomberg) as saying the company has been absorbing added costs of about $200, and that has been “hurting” its “profitability very badly.” Yu’s statement came alongside the launch of Huawei’s flagship Mate 90 series, which includes a special edition model going as high as CNY 18,999 (~$2,835) as well as a detachable camera with its own sensor and lens stack that supports up to 10x optical zoom.