On August 15, CCTV reported that there has been a price reduction in the chip market recently. A core component chip has dropped from 3,500 yuan last year to 600 yuan, a drop of more than 80%.
Many users are concerned about whether the price reduction of chips will affect the prices of consumer electronics such as smartphones and cars?
In this regard, experts said that the prices of these commodities will not be affected in the short term, but in the long run for more than half a year, there will be a downward trend in prices.
Why did the chip price drop significantly?
Since the beginning of this year, the market price of consumer electronics control chips has continued to decline, from a high of 100 yuan to double digits.
Liu Xingliang, a member of the Information and Communication Economics Expert Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that public data shows that in the field of consumer electronics, especially in many major types of chips such as panel chips, communication chips, and analog chips, the price drop is not small.
Among them, most of the prices have dropped by more than 20% in the past two months, and some chips have dropped by more than 80%.
Why is the chip price cut so much?
A person in charge of an electronic technology company said that due to the decline in global mobile phone sales in 2022, the supply of electronic chips for mobile phones will exceed demand, and major mobile phone manufacturers have lowered their shipment targets and cut orders to upstream chip manufacturers.
The demand for smart phones is showing a weak trend, and the inventory of parts and components of the complete machine manufacturers is increasing day by day, so that the demand for parts and components has also begun to decline.
An industry insider told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter that this time the chip is not simply a "price cut", but a fallback based on the crazy price increase of chips last year.
Will it affect mobile phone prices?
So, will the rise and fall of chip prices affect the price of mobile phones for consumers?
Analysts said that the chip is a key component of consumer electronics such as mobile phones, and its price will definitely affect the cost price of the entire mobile phone.
However, this impact cycle is not immediate, but has a certain period.
Because general manufacturers will order from upstream chip suppliers at least one quarter in advance, including the order price and the price of mobile phones have already been predicted.
And in the next new phone release, these factors will be taken into account.
Therefore, if chip prices drop in the near future, prices such as 5G mobile phones may only be reflected in half a year.
Sun Yanbiao, chairman of Chaodian Think Tank, told the Beiqing Daily reporter: "Mobile phone manufacturers have finally raised their prices, and they will not cut prices so quickly. Mobile phone manufacturers have very low gross margins, so they will definitely wait a little bit. In fact, it mainly depends on competitors. In addition, once the mobile phone price system is set, it cannot be changed casually, so the dividend of chip decline may be reflected in some of the next online shopping activities.”
As for the question of whether the price of chips will drop and whether the price of mobile phones will drop, Feng Kaili, an analyst in the data department of Zhuanzhuan Group, said that the factors affecting the price of mobile phones are more complicated. In addition to hardware cost factors such as chips, market supply and demand are the key elements.
What is the price trend of the hot-selling machine?
For consumers, the price of mobile phones that is more concerned is divided into two parts: fixed price (release price) and actual sales price in the retail market (hand price).
"The pricing range of flagship models is an important factor for manufacturers to maintain brand value, so it is generally relatively stable. Even if the price is adjusted actively, the range will generally not exceed 1,000 yuan. There will still be a big difference in price." Feng Kaili introduced that from the first half of the year, due to factors such as the decline in shipments, Apple and major domestic manufacturers have adjusted the sales prices of their main models in the retail market, so that In order to ensure the achievement of sales targets and a stable market share, the main measures are to reduce official prices and channel dealers to reduce prices.
Feng Kaili further stated that the actual price of mobile phones in the new phone market has declined, and the transfer to the second-hand market has brought about a general price reduction, but there are also individual models that will remain stable due to the impact of supply and demand. For example, Huawei 5G mobile phones equipped with Kirin chips have been hot in the old and new markets. Sales, prices are relatively firm.
From the perspective of future trends, Feng Kaili said that in addition to hardware costs such as chips, price factors are also affected by multiple factors such as supply chain cost control, market competition, supply and demand, and global economic trends.
"From the perspective of price trends in the domestic market, what is more important is the expectation of shipments brought about by market supply and demand, which will have a greater impact on future manufacturers' pricing and actual sales prices in the retail market." Feng Kaili said that considering the release of the new phone in September As the peak sales season is approaching, coupled with factors such as the "Double 11" promotion in the fourth quarter, it is expected that the actual prices of the main hot-selling flagship models in the mobile phone retail market will continue to drop.
Text/Coordinator Wen Jing from our reporter/Yu Meiying