A new leak claims that three upcoming Chinese smartphone models could see significant price increases.
News of smartphone price hikes is no surprise these days, thanks to rising RAM costs and the AI boom. Even more, flagship models are expected to use the latest chips. With all these factors combined, we expect several models to become pricier than their predecessors.
This might happen to the Redmi K100 Pro Max, OnePlus 16, and iQOO 16, as suggested by tipster Digital Chat Station. All three models are believed to feature the anticipated Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chip, which is set to debut in Q3 this year.
According to DCS, the phones will be available in a 12GB/256GB configuration variant and will have a base price of CN¥5000. To recall, their predecessors debuted at a base price of only around CN¥4000. As such, this translates to around a CN¥1000. Worse, this price increase could be higher globally once the phones escape China. To recall, Chinese manufacturers usually offer their models at lower prices domestically. Outside, global consumers sometimes get smaller batteries for the same models and higher prices.
In related news, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun promised that the brand would find ways to minimize the impact of the hike on consumers. As such, there might still be a sliver of hope that the price hike rumor might not be entirely true for at least one of the aforementioned models, the Redmi K100 Pro Max.
