For many shoppers in Karachi, buying a new phone has suddenly become a much harder decision. Prices of handsets from major brands have climbed by between Rs15,000 and Rs30,000, and the sharpest pain is being felt at the cheaper end of the market, where buyers once expected to find a workable phone without spending a fortune. A basic model that used to sell for roughly Rs20,000 to Rs22,000 is now changing hands for somewhere between Rs35,000 and Rs40,000 in several city markets, putting even an entry-level device beyond the comfort of low and middle income households.
Dealers say the market has turned uncertain. Sales have softened, they report, and customers who walk in looking for an affordable phone often leave empty handed or turn instead to second hand and refurbished sets. The problem is not only the price tag itself but the way prices keep shifting, which makes it difficult for both sellers and buyers to plan. In neighbourhoods such as Saddar, Buffer Zone and North Karachi, shoppers say they are struggling to find a reasonably priced phone that can still run the apps they rely on every day.
The people who sell and make phones point to the cost of components rather than to taxes as the main culprit. Muhammad Rizwan Irfan, who heads the Karachi Electronics Dealers Association, has said the rise is driven chiefly by dearer chips. A representative of the Pakistan Mobile Phone Manufacturers Association, Mian Abdul Rehman, has offered a similar explanation, linking the increase to the rising price of memory parts such as RAM and ROM. According to him, the boom in artificial intelligence, robotics and data centres has pushed demand for memory far ahead of supply, and because technology firms are willing to pay more for those parts, phone makers are finding it harder to hold their own prices steady.
The knock on effect is visible in the timeline of prices. A phone that cost around Rs22,000 to Rs23,000 rose to about Rs30,000 in August and has climbed further in October, dealers say. For a household that depends on a phone for banking, schooling, transport bookings, government services and simply staying in touch, that kind of jump is not a minor inconvenience. It can mean choosing between a used handset, a basic keypad phone, or waiting indefinitely in the hope that prices ease.
Shoppers are now asking the government to step in. Some have suggested partnerships with manufacturers that could bring cheaper phones within reach, arguing that access to a decent smartphone has become almost as basic as any other utility. Until component costs settle or some form of relief arrives, dealers expect the budget segment to remain the most squeezed part of the market, and buyers the most cautious they have been in some time.
