Memory quadruples in one year! Domestic smartphone manufacturers collectively raise prices: how long will this last? Will Apple join in?

Translated from: The Paper News client

Xiaomi has announced that phone prices are increasing; as a result, multiple domestic smartphone makers such as OPPO, vivo, Honor, and others have already completed their price hikes.

On April 3, @Cici_ Lao Wei, General Manager of the Market Department for Xiaomi China, posted on social media saying that although Xiaomi has been doing its best to curb the impact of rising memory prices on terminal pricing, this round of memory price surges and the magnitude are still far beyond expectations. To ensure normal product supply and stable quality, Xiaomi has no choice but to adjust the suggested retail prices of some products currently on sale.

This adjustment involves three device models: starting April 11, REDMI K90 Pro Max will be increased by 200 yuan; for Turbo 5 and Turbo 5 Max, the new-spring promotions will be canceled; and the 512G high-memory version will continue to receive a subsidy of 200 yuan.

The AI boom has caused a sharp surge in demand for storage chips, impacting the storage chips used in consumer electronics. Since the third quarter of last year, storage chip prices have been rising steadily, increasing smartphone supply-chain costs.

On the same day, Xiaomi Group partner, President, President of the Mobile Phone Division, and Xiaomi Brand General Manager Lu Weibing also posted, saying: The intensity of this round of memory price increases really is far beyond expectations. Compared with the same-version memory prices in the first quarter of last year, they have surged by nearly 4 times. The 12+512 has gone up by about 1,500 yuan, and the 16+1TB is even more wildly priced. This has had a significant impact on REDMI, which has long priced for extreme value. Therefore, we have no choice but to make a small increase to the retail prices of some models or restore them to their original prices, and hope everyone understands.

Xiaomi is the later manufacturer to raise prices in this round. During MWC2026 World Mobile Communications Conference, Lu Weibing had already pointed out that the storage price increases in this round are a “once-in-history” long-cycle uptrend, expected to last until the end of 2027, starting from the second quarter of 2025—a span of nearly three years. Lu Weibing revealed that in the first quarter of 2026, storage quotes have already reached nearly 4 times those of the same period last year. He said that this round of price hikes not only affects the smartphone industry, but also almost all consumer electronics categories such as tablets, TVs, and cars—no industry players are spared.

OPPO phones are the first batch of leading manufacturers to “officially announce” price increases.

On March 10, OPPO wrote in an official statement: In response to the rising costs of multiple key smartphone components, including high-speed storage hardware, after careful assessment, the company has made the following decision: starting from 0:00 on March 16, 2026, OPPO will adjust the prices of some products that have already been released, thereby continuing to ensure outstanding product quality and user experience. As of now, the released products whose prices will be adjusted include the OPPO A series, K series, and OnePlus.

On March 16, following OPPO and OnePlus, vivo and iQOO also officially announced suggested retail price adjustments for some products. vivo stated in an announcement on its official community that, affected by ongoing, significant global increases in semiconductor and storage costs, after careful evaluation, the company will adjust the suggested retail prices of some products starting at 10:00 on March 18, 2026. The specific models and prices are subject to what is shown on official channels’ product detail pages.

On the evening of March 16, OPPO’s pricing adjustment plans for some phones were already published on e-commerce channels. Among them, OPPO’s A series will raise prices by 300 yuan across the board, with high-memory versions increasing by 500 yuan; OPPO’s K series will raise prices by 300 yuan–500 yuan across the board. OnePlus Ace series products will increase by 300 yuan–500 yuan.

Honor previously did not announce a price-hike plan to the public. However, in its offline physical stores, Honor 500 Standard Edition will be increased by 300 yuan. Honor’s newly released foldable phone, Honor Magic V6, is also up by 1,000 yuan compared with the previous generation.

It’s worth noting that the price-hike forms are also diverse. For example, Xiaomi and OPPO directly raise prices for products already on sale—these phones are mainly concentrated in the mid-to-low end, but some manufacturers directly increase prices for new models, especially in the high-end lineup. For example, Huawei’s newly released Mate 80 Pro Max Windrider edition is priced at 8,499 yuan for the 16G+512G version and 9,499 yuan for the 16G+1TB version—both are increased by 500 yuan compared with the regular Mate 80 Pro Max launched in the second half of last year. Huawei Enjoy 90 series starts at 1,299 yuan, which is a 100 yuan increase compared with the previous generation. Samsung’s S26 series also directly raised its price at launch, with the maximum increase reaching 1,000 yuan.

However, relevant people from Huawei responded that there is no price increase for currently sold models; newly released models have new functions and features. Pricing will be based on market conditions.

From the perspective of supply-chain management capability, this round of price hikes is more favorable for smartphone manufacturers with larger scale. They have stronger negotiation leverage and more stable sourcing. For example, Apple’s entire product lineup has not announced a price increase to date, and even in January this year it launched short-term promotions for some newly released models. Still, the outside world is watching closely whether the prices for Apple’s new-generation flagship iPhone to be released in September this year and its first foldable phone will see major adjustments.

Currently, storage chip prices remain high. Even if there are some pullbacks in the secondary market, they won’t change the upward trend in prices. Therefore, going forward, smartphone manufacturers may continue to raise prices in order to reflect pressure from supply-chain costs.

When Ma Shiw en, an analyst at Counterpoint, was interviewed by a reporter from The Paper, he said that memory issues affect the entire industry. Xiaomi’s price adjustment is slightly later because its inventory can temporarily support short-term demand.

Ma Shiw en said that among the entry-level models affected the most by this round of storage price increases, mid-to-high-end models also face cost pressure. Each manufacturer will take different actions based on its own strategy. The pricing of both older and newer products needs to be considered, and new products will most likely see price increases.

As for Apple’s lack of any price adjustment so far, Ma Shiw en said that Apple has an advantage in premium product mix and supply-chain capabilities. It can absorb the profit loss on its own to maintain market share growth, and the currently available products will not raise prices. She expects that the impact of storage price hikes on the market will last at least until the end of 2027.

IDC, a third-party organization, pointed out that for smartphones, storage chip price increases are even more severe: in the first quarter of 2026, they are expected to decline year over year by 6.8%. As storage prices continue to rise, some manufacturers, especially smaller firms, face challenges in ensuring supply or bearing costs.

IDC expects unit shipments per quarter will decline significantly from the second quarter onward. The average selling price (ASP) will rise, but demand will be suppressed as a result. Units for the full year will show negative year-over-year growth. Even if revenue appears relatively stable due to ASP rising, it will still be impacted.

IDC predicts that global smartphone shipments will fall 12.9% in 2026, and revenue will decline by 0.5%. In 2027, it is expected to grow by 1.9%, and in 2028 it will rebound to 5.2%.

Regarding the storage chip price increase cycle, IDC expects that supply challenges for storage will continue throughout 2026 and may extend into 2027. Although the rate of storage price increases is expected to slow in the second half of this year, prices will still continue rising and remain at a high level. Based on current assumptions, the model predicts that prices will not return to the 2025 price level during the forecast period. Although relief may occur to some extent as storage capacity expands and some Chinese small and medium-sized storage suppliers participate, IDC expects this will not be enough to fundamentally change the trajectory of the crisis.

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