Everyone blames AI when laptop and smartphone prices skyrocket overnight. But who actually decided that price?
On June 25, 2026, Apple raised prices across its MacBooks, iPads, and Vision Pro lineup without introducing a single new hardware feature. The real reason isn’t Tim Cook, and it isn’t tax policy—it’s an artificial famine controlled by just three global corporations.
In this episode of 42 Unframed, we break down:
• How memory chips are manufactured from ordinary beach sand
• Why Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are facing price-fixing court cases
• How the chip crisis silently hits India’s sub-₹25,000 smartphone market
• Why India’s ₹76,000 Crore chip mission can’t fight the advanced AI war yet
• The unexpected role of Kerala’s Chavara rare-earth corridor in the global tech race
Watch till the end to understand why the price of your next device is connected to the very sand beneath our feet.
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TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 – The Real Reason Laptop Prices Skyrocketed
00:59 – The ₹1 Trillion OpenAI Promise & Market Crash
03:31 – How Chips Are Actually Made from Sand
04:47 – How AI Data Centers Triggered a Memory Famine
05:54 – The 3-Company Monopoly & Cartel Allegations
06:58 – How Chip Hikes Hit India’s Budget Smartphone Buyers
07:35 – Why India Cannot Win the 28nm Chip War Yet
08:50 – Kerala’s Hidden Goldmine: Chavara & Rare Earth Corridor
10:16 – Ground Reality: The ₹42,000 Cr Plan vs Reality
11:01 – Who Really Decided Your Next Tech Bill?
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