Intel has raised processor prices three times since late last year and Qualcomm added about 10% to PC chips this month, with TSMC's own 2027 increases priced in behind them. Notebook makers carry the bill first, holiday shoppers next.
Chip makers are raising the price of the processors inside laptops and phones, the latest cost pushed up by the AI building boom. Intel−6.29% — Intel, down 6.29 percent today has raised chip prices three times since late last year, Qualcomm−3.81% — Qualcomm, down 3.81 percent today raised prices on its PC chips by about 10% this month, and AMD−6.27% — AMD, down 6.27 percent today is preparing increases of its own 1. All of this comes before TSMC−2.33% — TSMC, down 2.33 percent today, the contract manufacturer that makes chips for much of the industry, raises its own prices in 2027 1. Memory chips got more expensive first, then graphics chips. Processors are now the third part of a computer to go up in price 2.
Intel's biggest increases are on chips with TSMC-made parts
Intel's latest round, on September 1, raised prices on its high-end Panther Lake laptop chips by 15% to 20%, compared with 5% to 10% for its older Meteor Lake and Arrow Lake chips 1. The biggest increases hit the Panther Lake models whose graphics section is made by TSMC on its N3E process, while the main processor section comes from Intel's own factories on its 18A process 1. That suggests Intel is passing on what TSMC charges it. Analysts estimate that after a third round of increases in October, Intel's processor prices are up close to 30% this year 3.
Qualcomm followed this month, adding about 10% to the price of its Snapdragon X and X2 Elite laptop chips from October 1. Dell, Lenovo and HP, which build laptops on these chips, are expected to pass that cost on to buyers 2. AMD, meanwhile, has started volume production of its "Venice" EPYC server chips on TSMC's 2nm process. Its chief executive, Lisa Su, said during a visit to Taiwan on October 5 and 6 that AMD's chip supply will rise substantially in 2027 with TSMC and other partners 14.
The pass-through outruns the input: Intel's top hike runs at twice TSMC's expected node rise
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TSMC raises its prices in 2027, after memory already did
The increase at TSMC is already expected. Forecasts put TSMC's 2027 rises at 5% to 10% for its most advanced manufacturing, 10% to 15% for packaging, the step that assembles chips into finished parts, and 3% to 5% for older processes 1. Reporting in July said TSMC plans wafer price rises of up to 10% from January 2027, plus surcharges of 10% to 15% for customers who order more than they forecast 5. Memory prices rose earlier and faster. Intel's chief executive, Lip-Bu Tan, has said memory now costs five to seven times what it did and makes up about 75% of the cost of some cheaper devices, and that Intel is filling about half its orders 136.
Laptop makers cannot keep price, specs and profit all at once
For laptop makers, the squeeze is sharp. TrendForce, a Taiwanese market research firm, expects notebook shipments to fall 9.4% in 2026. It estimates that the processor, memory and storage together made up about 68% of the parts cost of a $900 laptop in the third quarter of 2026 17. For 2027 it expects shipments to fall by a low single-digit percentage, or by a high single-digit percentage if makers pass the costs on to shoppers, because people keep their old laptops longer when new ones cost more 7.
AMD has held back, for now
AMD is the exception so far. It has not formally raised prices on its desktop chips for consumers 3, and TrendForce expects laptop brands to absorb part of the higher costs rather than pass all of them on 7. Neither may last long. AMD is preparing its own increases 1, and its new server chips depend on the same TSMC wafers 4.
Qualcomm is betting on phones that need far more memory
Qualcomm's chief executive, Cristiano Amon, says AI companies are working toward phones that run 100-billion-parameter AI models all the time by 2028 8. A model that size, stored at 4 bits per parameter, needs roughly 50GB of memory, while phone makers have already dropped plans for versions with 24GB 8. So Qualcomm is promoting phones that need far more memory at the moment memory is scarcest. The next thing to watch is whether TSMC's wafer increases in January 2027 set off a second round of higher prices for shoppers in the first half of next year 3.