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The best time to buy an iPhone

From Alsumaria · () Arabic

Translated from Arabic and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Named sources New plan
  • Analysts expect Apple’s upcoming iPhone 18 models to cost at least $100 more than last year’s versions, with a foldable model potentially priced at $2,000 or more.
  • Rising memory-chip costs, driven partly by technology companies’ artificial-intelligence data-center spending, have pushed up prices across consumer electronics.
  • TechInsights analyst Wayne Lam advised people planning to buy a smartphone within the next year to consider doing so before prices rise.

If you plan to buy a smartphone within the next year, it may be better to do it sooner, according to Wayne Lam, an analyst at TechInsights who tracks consumer-electronics costs.

“Go buy it. Prices are going up and they’re unlikely to come down,” Lam said.

Apple is expected to unveil its iPhone 18 models this week. Analysts estimate that the new devices could cost at least $100 more than last year’s versions, while some older models could also receive price increases. Apple may leave its least expensive phones without an update and focus on higher-end models, including a new foldable iPhone expected to cost $2,000 or more.

The article presents the price increases as part of a broader shift in the smartphone market. Phones are becoming more expensive even as some offer fewer improvements, breaking with the long-standing consumer-electronics pattern of products becoming better and cheaper over time. The source links the new pressure to the artificial-intelligence boom and the huge sums technology companies are spending on new data centers.

Memory-chip prices have risen sharply, with the cost of one type of computer chip quadrupling over the past year. The chips help devices respond quickly while users switch between applications or run demanding games. Memory, once a predictable and relatively unremarkable component, is now in high demand from companies building data centers for artificial-intelligence calculations.

Laptop makers, video-game console manufacturers, smart-speaker companies, streaming-device producers, connected-doorbell makers and e-reader companies have raised prices. Microsoft has raised Xbox prices several times. Morgan Stanley has described the trend as “AI-related chipflation.”

Apple hinted earlier this year that it could raise device prices amid disruption in the computer-chip market. In June, it increased prices for some Mac and iPad models and HomePod speakers by as much as $500. Tim Cook, who stepped down as Apple’s chief executive on Sept. 1, compared the accelerating cost of memory chips in July to a once-in-a-century flood. Analysts then expected the iPhone to be next.

Go buy it. Prices are going up and they’re unlikely to come down.

· Wayne LamThe TechInsights analyst advised consumers to buy a smartphone before expected price increases.
About this summary

Originally published by Alsumaria in Arabic. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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