It’s the year of smartphone price hikes

Paying more for a new phone seems almost unavoidable after Apple’s event today. The new start at $1,199 and $1,299, respectively — a $100 price hike over their predecessors. You can’t dodge the price hike by opting for an older iPhone, either, because . And it’s not just Apple. This year, the $100 price hike has been a trend across the industry.

Google and Samsung followed the same formula as Apple when they each launched new phones over the past few months. The starts at $899, up from $799 for last year’s Pixel 10. The launched at $2,099, $100 more than the Galaxy Z Fold 7 it replaced.

You could try looking for a phone from a brand outside the big three, but there, too. Sony’s new costs £150 more, and this year’s also cost $100 more than their predecessors, each offering little to no significant upgrades to go with their higher prices. Smartphone sales data shows that the market for phones under $100 may be on its way to .

The price hikes stem from ongoing component shortages, driven by AI data center build outs, that and aren’t showing any signs of letting up. have been among the most severe. Nothing CEO Carl Pei said earlier this year that memory costs had doubled by the time it launched. Nearly every component that goes into new phones, and other tech, is also getting pricier. Qualcomm, which makes the processors that power many new phones, earlier this month.

Apple was fashionably late to raise its phone prices, like it was late to , potentially signaling that both trends are here to stay.