On June 14, South Korean media "The Herald Economy" published an article stating that if US President Donald Trump announces the "25% smartphone tariff", Samsung Electronics will inevitably raise the price of its smartphones. Since Samsung Electronics does not have a factory in the United States, nearly all of its smartphones will be subject to the tariff.
It is predicted that Samsung smartphone prices may rise by around 40% due to President Trump's tariff policy.
Samsung Electronics produces many of its high-end products, including the Galaxy S series, Z Flip, Z Fold, and affordable products such as the Galaxy A series and Z series, in the northern provinces of Vietnam, Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen.
The United States is the largest market for high-end phones globally. Given that Samsung mainly sells expensive products, tariffs are expected to further exacerbate product price fluctuations.
Regarding Samsung's foldable phone set to launch in July, the existing "Galaxy Fold" series is priced at around 2 million Korean won. Depending on the capacity, the price ranges from 2.2 million to 2.7 million Korean won.
In this situation, analysis suggests that Samsung's new smartphone models this year will struggle to make an impact in the US market. This is because, with relatively low market share in the US, using price competition as a weapon may become more difficult for Samsung.
However, the impact of rising prices affects not only Samsung but also Apple. Apple produces approximately 90% of iPhones globally in China. The company is diversifying its supply chain by establishing production bases in other countries like India. Previously, Apple announced plans to increase production in India to 25% by 2027.
However, due to the high tariffs imposed by President Trump on India, Apple's supply chain diversification strategy may also be disrupted.
The most concerning issue is that the vicious cycle of shrinking smartphone markets due to rising smartphone prices may continue. This could trigger a chain reaction, shaking up the smartphone market originally divided into high-end phones and mid-to-low-priced phones.
An IT industry insider predicts, "As the smartphone upgrade cycle lengthens and market growth stalls, rising product prices will tighten consumers' wallets even further, and previous users of high-end products may turn to lower-priced options."
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1834906916764938/
Disclaimer: The article solely represents the views of the author.