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

Why did Xiaomi delay adjusting its phone prices compared to its peers?

Xiaomi announced a price increase for its phones, and since then, several domestic phone manufacturers such as OPPO, vivo, and Honor have already completed their price hikes.

On April 3rd, Cici Lao Wei, General Manager of Xiaomi China’s Marketing Department, posted on social media that although Xiaomi has been trying to curb the impact of memory price increases on terminal prices, the current surge and extent of memory price hikes have far exceeded expectations. To ensure normal product supply and stable quality, Xiaomi has had to adjust the suggested retail prices of some products on sale.

This price adjustment involves three models: starting April 11th, the REDMI K90 Pro Max will increase by 200 yuan; Turbo 5 and Turbo 5 Max will cancel their New Year promotions; and the 512GB large memory version will continue to receive a 200 yuan subsidy.

The explosion of artificial intelligence has caused a sharp increase in demand for storage chips, impacting storage chips used in consumer electronics. Since the third quarter of last year, storage chip prices have been rising steadily, increasing the costs in the mobile phone supply chain.

On the same day, Lu Weibing, Xiaomi Group’s Partner, President, Head of the Mobile Phone Department, and General Manager of Xiaomi Brand, also posted that: The current round of memory price increases has indeed exceeded expectations, with memory prices soaring nearly four times compared to the first quarter of last year. The 12+512GB model increased by about 1,500 yuan, and the 16+1TB version rose even more ridiculously, which has had a significant impact on the Redmi series, known for its extreme cost-performance ratio. Therefore, we have had to make small increases or restore the original prices for some models. We hope everyone can understand.

Xiaomi is among the later manufacturers to raise prices this round. During MWC 2026, Lu Weibing pointed out that this round of storage price increases is an “unprecedented” long-term trend, expected to last until the end of 2027, spanning nearly three years starting from Q2 2025. He revealed that in the first quarter of 2026, storage prices had already reached nearly four times the levels of the same period last year. He stated that this round of price hikes not only impacts the mobile phone industry but also affects tablets, TVs, cars, and almost all consumer electronics categories—“no industry player is immune.”

OPPO was among the first major brands to officially announce a price increase.

On March 10th, OPPO stated in an official announcement: Faced with rising costs of key mobile components, including high-speed storage hardware, after careful evaluation, the company has decided that starting from 00:00 on March 16, 2026, OPPO will adjust the prices of some already released products to continue ensuring excellent product quality and user experience. The affected products include the OPPO A series, K series, and OnePlus.

On March 16th, following OPPO and OnePlus, vivo and iQOO also announced adjustments to the suggested retail prices of some products. vivo posted on its official community that, due to the continued significant increase in global semiconductor and storage costs, after careful assessment, the company will adjust the suggested retail prices of some products starting at 10:00 on March 18, 2026. The specific models and prices will be as shown on the official product detail pages.

On the evening of March 16th, some OPPO phones’ price adjustment plans were announced on e-commerce channels. The entire OPPO A series will see a price increase of at least 300 yuan, with high-memory versions increasing by 500 yuan; the entire OPPO K series will increase by 300-500 yuan; and OnePlus Ace series products will increase by 300-500 yuan.

Honor had not previously announced a price increase plan. However, the Honor 500 standard version in offline stores increased by 300 yuan. The recently released foldable Honor Magic V6 also increased in price by around 1,000 yuan compared to the previous generation.

It is worth noting that the forms of price increases are also diverse. For example, Xiaomi and OPPO directly raised prices on already released models, mainly in the mid-to-low-end segment. Some manufacturers have also directly increased the prices of new models, especially high-end series. For instance, Huawei’s newly launched Mate 80 Pro Max Fengchi Edition with 16GB+512GB is priced at 8,499 yuan, and the 16GB+1TB version is 9,499 yuan, both about 500 yuan higher than the standard Mate 80 Pro Max launched in the second half of last year. Huawei’s Enjoy 90 series starts at 1,299 yuan, up 100 yuan from the previous generation. Samsung’s S26 series also raised prices at launch, with the highest increase reaching 1,000 yuan.

However, Huawei officials responded that there has been no price increase for current models, and new models with additional features and functions are priced based on market conditions.

From a supply chain management perspective, this round of price hikes favors larger-scale manufacturers, who have stronger bargaining power and more stable supply sources. For example, Apple has not announced any price increases for its entire product line, and even in January this year, it ran short-term promotions on some newly released models. Still, the industry is watching whether the upcoming new flagship and foldable phones announced for September will see significant price adjustments.

Currently, storage chip prices remain high. Even though there has been some correction in the secondary market, the overall upward trend in prices is unlikely to change. Therefore, mobile phone manufacturers may continue to raise prices to reflect supply chain cost pressures.

Counterpoint analyst Ma Shiwen told The Paper that the memory issue affects the entire industry. Xiaomi, with its inventory buffer, is able to support short-term demand and has been slightly late in adjusting prices.

Ma Shiwen said that the impact of this round of storage price increases is most evident on entry-level models, but mid-to-high-end models are also under cost pressure. Different companies will adopt strategies based on their own policies, and both old and new products are likely to see price increases.

Regarding Apple’s lack of price adjustments so far, Ma Shiwen explained that Apple has a high-end product portfolio and supply chain advantages, allowing it to absorb profit losses internally to maintain market share growth. Currently, existing products will not see price hikes. She predicts that the impact of storage price increases on the market will last at least until the end of 2027.

Third-party firm IDC pointed out that the rise in storage chip prices makes the situation more severe for smartphones, with a projected year-over-year decline of 6.8% in the first quarter of 2026. As storage prices continue to rise, some manufacturers, especially smaller ones, face challenges in ensuring supply or absorbing costs.

IDC expects unit shipments to drop significantly starting in Q2. Average selling prices (ASP) will increase, but demand will be suppressed as a result. Full-year unit shipments are expected to decline year-over-year, even if revenue remains relatively stable due to ASP increases.

IDC forecasts that global mobile phone shipments will decrease by 12.9% in 2026, with revenue down 0.5%. Growth is expected to resume in 2027 at 1.9%, and rebound to 5.2% in 2028.

Regarding the storage chip price cycle, IDC predicts that supply challenges will persist throughout 2026 and may extend into 2027. Although the pace of storage price increases is expected to slow in the second half of this year, prices will still continue to rise and stay high. Based on current assumptions, models forecast that prices will not return to 2025 levels during the forecast period. While increased storage capacity and participation from some Chinese small and medium-sized suppliers may provide some relief, IDC does not expect this to fundamentally alter the crisis trend.