Falling prices for smartphones: Golden times are dawning for buyers

7.3 percent! Inflation is tearing deeper and deeper holes in the wallets of Germans. In these expensive times, every euro saved has a direct impact. Lucky in disguise: Consumers will soon have to dig significantly less into their pockets for smartphones.

Prices in Germany only know one direction: upwards. Soaring energy prices, disrupted supply chains and the Ukraine war have pushed inflation to a new 40-year high. The inflation rate in March was a gigantic 7.3 percent. On at least one front, however, consumers could have to spend less money in the future: on smartphones.

Qualcomm and MediaTek should ensure lower smartphone prices

The reason for the drop in price is said to be a competition between the chip suppliers Qualcomm and MediaTek . According to industry sources, the two top dogs fear falling demand from the major smartphone manufacturers and want to fight this with price reductions for their processors . The chips should be 5 to 10 percent cheaper, depending on the model segment (source: DigiTimes via WinFuture).

The falling prices should also ensure that smartphone manufacturers can no longer only install high-end processors in their flagships, but also in devices in the upper middle class. Ideally, this means two things for consumers: generally lower prices for smartphones and better equipped mid-range devices.

With these smartphone bargains you also save:

Desire to buy luxury items is waning: problem for Samsung, Apple and Co.

Of course, it remains to be seen how much of the falling prices the manufacturers will ultimately pass on to the customers . But Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi and Co. do not live on islands either and have to adjust their pricing policies to the changed signs. Understandably, as consumers face increasing spending on energy and groceries, luxury items—and that includes smartphones—reduce their desire to buy them. Lower prices could counteract this .

At least that is the ideal case for consumers. However, the smartphone producers could also take the car manufacturers as a role model and see the cheap chips as an opportunity to increase their profits if they do not pass the savings on to us customers. In the car industry, a similar move – preferring to supply expensive luxury models with scarce chips – has ensured record profits despite the crisis.