According to the report by DigiTimes, Intel is having an oversupply problem with the best CPUs and wants to reduce the supply as soon as possible. As a result, Intel has announced plans to raise CPU prices in the near future. This seems to be an attempt to get PC vendors to buy more CPUs in advance of rising prices, which reduces oversupply.
This strategy is not new and is often used to accelerate sales as needed. However, the side effect of this strategy is that sales will drop significantly by the end of the year as PC vendors have already purchased more supplies than they need. Nevertheless, this strategy should theoretically allow Intel to reduce the problem of oversupply. This currently seems to be a top priority for Intel.
Intel’s success with this strategy is unclear, according to DigiTimes sources, but it is expected that prices for both consumer and server processors, as well as Wi-Fi chips, will rise later this fall. Success depends on the requirements of each vendor and the number of additional CPUs each vendor needs or can use.
It’s unclear if Intel’s CPU price increases will affect both the OEM and DIY markets, but DigiTimes doesn’t distinguish between them, so it could affect both. Intel has also shown that it will raise the price of mobile processors to combat inflation, and that’s not all because it has already notified its customers about price changes. As a result, notebook prices may rise slightly in the near future.
Nonetheless, DigiTimes estimates that notebook volume in the third quarter will increase by 14.3% quarterly, thanks to lower demand in the second quarter due to COVID restrictions in China. This will affect Apple and HP in particular, with shipments expected to increase by 43% and 25% due to recovery from material shortages in the second quarter.
Intel’s price increase took some time to arrive. AMD reportedly considered raising customer prices in late 2021, as Intel is currently doing, but that backfired and vendors would follow higher prices. I refused. It probably also affected Intel, which helped keep CPU prices low.
Currently, Intel seems to be raising prices for all processors near the end of 2022, even though the material shortage has been resolved. However, it may not happen, according to DigiTimes sources. These plans are forecast and potential options. If anything, it could be temporarily raised on Intel CPUs in early fall, but then prices will fall into the discount range in time for Black Friday and the Christmas season.
Also note that future Intel Raptor Lake processors will be available in the near future. It’s not clear if these reported price increases also apply to Raptor Lake, but Logic suggests that Intel wants to clear existing Alder Lake inventory before Raptor Lake launches.
