PC vendors, in order to reflect continual hikes in component costs, including display panels, DRAM, SSDs, Li batteries, plan to raise retail prices when new models equipped with revised Kaby Lake processors are launched in the third quarter of 2017, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.
Intel is planning to release upgraded Kaby Lake processors in the third quarter and PC vendors are expected to release new products with increased prices to target back-to-school demand.
Lenovo COO Gianfranco Lanci, at an analyst conference in February, said that PC component shortages have not improved and the company will raise its PC prices in order to reflect some of the increased costs.
Asustek Computer CEO Jerry Shen also recently noted that the company's biggest challenges in 2017 are exchange rate fluctuations and component price hikes. To minimize the impact from the component pricing, Asustek is also planning to increase the prices for its new products.
The component shortages are also expected to create more pressure on small PC vendors, as big vendors placing bigger amounts of component orders will be given priority by their suppliers.
