Chinese smartphone manufacturers have warned their Russian partners about price increases in February. About this with reference to industry sources report newspaper “Izvestia”.
Suppliers predict that the cost of devices, depending on the brand, model and amount of built-in memory, will increase by 15-30%.
“Market participants have received updated price lists, which show an increase in purchase prices. The most notable changes are expected to occur in the mid-range and high-end price segments, as well as on models with higher memory and internal memory,” one of the sources gave as an example.
Ultimately, smartphone prices at retail could increase by 20-30%. The reason is the increase in prices of the components responsible for device memory – random access (RAM) and physical memory (ROM) amid growing demand from the rapidly growing market of AI solutions and services. Low-cost devices, where the memory share of the smartphone's cost is higher than other components, will see the biggest price increases.
According to Reuters forecasts, global demand for smartphones, personal computers (PCs) and gaming consoles will decline in 2026, as their manufacturers intend to increase prices to compensate for the sharp increase in RAM costs. Memory chip makers have begun prioritizing higher-margin data center components over consumer devices. Along with Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron all announced difficulties in meeting demand.
