Smartphone Price Hike: If you are planning to buy a new smartphone then the year 2026 may prove to be a bit difficult for you. In the coming time, there may be a major memory chip crisis in the smartphone market due to which the prices of phones are likely to increase. Especially in markets like India where the demand for budget smartphones is high, its impact can be felt more.
Estimate of decline in smartphone sales in global market
According to research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), there may be a sharp decline in smartphone shipments worldwide in the year 2026. According to the report, while about 1.26 billion smartphones were shipped in 2025, this number may come down to about 1.12 billion units in 2026. The biggest reason for this decline is being said to be the rising prices of memory chips. As the cost of these chips increases, companies will have to increase the prices of phones.
Phones priced below $100 may be extinct
There is a huge market for cheap smartphones in countries like India. But experts believe that in the coming time, smartphones priced below 100 dollars (about 8-9 thousand rupees) may almost disappear from the market. IDC estimates that the average price of smartphones may increase by about 14 percent in 2026. This will have a direct impact on those customers who buy a new phone in a low budget. The cheap price which made smartphones accessible to every class in the last decade may now come under pressure.
Prices of many smartphones have already increased
The effect of rising prices of memory chips is now visible in the market. The prices of some popular smartphone models have been increased in recent months. For example, the price of iQOO Z10 and Vivo T4 5G has seen an increase of about Rs 2000. Similarly, the prices of different storage variants of iQOO Z10x and Vivo T4x 5G have increased by Rs 1500 to Rs 2500.
Even premium smartphones are not spared from the impact
Not only budget phones but even expensive smartphones are not untouched by this problem. There was also an increase in the price of the recently launched Samsung Galaxy S26 series. The price of the base model of this series was kept higher by about Rs 6000, while the price of Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra increased by about Rs 10,000.
Memory supply is decreasing due to increasing demand of AI
A major reason for the shortage of memory chips is the rapidly growing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology around the world. Tech companies like Meta, Google and Microsoft are buying memory chips for large-scale AI data centers and computing infrastructure. Due to this, the availability of chips for companies making smartphones and PCs is decreasing and they have to buy them at higher prices.
What might change for Indian customers?
The changing circumstances are indicating that there may be a big change in the smartphone market in the coming time. Indian customers may see fewer options for ultra-budget phones, an increase in the average price and a longer interval of phone upgrades. This means that in the coming years, buying cheap smartphones may not be as easy as before.
Also read:
After getting hacked, do these 5 things first, if you get late then data and money can be lost.
