The prices of mobile phones in Pakistan are likely to go up again as costs of global semiconductors and smartphone chips rise, putting pressure on manufacturers.
Industry sources say the increased cost of smartphone chips is driven by rising demand for advanced data centers that power AI, and higher prices for memory chips, wafer fabrication, packaging, and other critical electronics components.
The effect is being seen across the worldwide mobile industry. International media have said Qualcomm, one of the world’s largest mobile chip makers, has alerted consumers of price rises on a number of its chipsets.
Industry experts say these higher production costs may eventually lead to a rise in retail prices of smartphones, including in Pakistan in the coming months.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Customs data released last week of July revealed that mobile phone imports into the country surged 258.6 percent in units during FY26.
The results came after reports said Pakistan imported mobile phones for Rs520 billion in the fiscal year. The numbers included imports of Completely Built Units (CBUs) and Completely Knocked Down (CKD) and Semi Knocked Down (SKD) kits separately, Customs said.
Imports of smartphone CBUs jumped from roughly 290,000 units in FY25 to 1.04 million units in FY26, a jump of some 750,000 devices. Industry input estimates that 60 to 70 percent of these increased imports are new and old Apple iPhones and Google Pixel smartphones.
The spike in imports was prompted by robust consumer demand for high-end brands not made locally, officials of the Customs Department said, and did not signal any change in the policy on local mobile phone manufacturing in Pakistan.
