Apple iPhone 13 price could give a nasty shock to buyers on launch

Apple iPhone 13 price on launch was expected to be around what the company was asking for the iPhone 12, but not any longer.

Apple iPhone 13 price may be hiked due to the global chip shortage that affected manufacturing companies. Supply of raw materials to manpower shortage, all due to Covid-19 pandemic, has affected the entire supply chain of Apple. (Apple )

Just a few months ago it was being argued that the iPhone 13 price on launch would be almost the same as that of iPhone 12 and that buyers would get the latest version of the Apple smartphone at the same time. However, those arguments are being belied now. It is increasingly being speculated that the iPhone 13 price may be hiked after all. However, there has been no official word from Apple over this and no "strategic leaks" have taken place so far either.

In any case, Apple iPhones are not cheap to start with. However, people go for it for various reasons including its performance and of course, it is a big status symbol for many. However, the question that now arises is whether the likely hike in iPhone 13 price will actually be more than what people can bear?

Watch Apple iPhone 13 Launch Event LIVE Streaming here.

To start off, it is being speculated that the price may be hiked by as much as ₹5000 approximately. You could lay the blame on Apple, but the fact is that this stems more from the Covid-19 pandemic situation than anything that the company has done or not done. There is a massive shortage of chipsets across the world and it is affecting the production, and prices, of everything from cars to smartphones. TSMC is the supplier of chipsets to Apple.

The latest casualty may well have been the JioPhone Next, which has been dubbed as the cheapest 4G smartphone, from Reliance Industries and Google. The smartphone's launch has been postponed from September 10 to a nebulous date near Diwali. No firm date has been announced.

Another question that this raises is whether Apple will absorb this cost or pass it on to buyers. It is not a small amount to absorb though. However, the competition is tight from other manufacturers, especially from China, not to mention South Korean tech major Samsung. So, pressure will be on Apple to hold the price hikes.

It is going to be a tough call for Apple to take and therefore, buyers should prepare themselves to loosen their purse strings a lot more than they were prepared to earlier.