Overview
- Industry data show smartphone shipments fell in the second quarter, with India down about 13% to 33.9 million units and China down about 4.3%, driven by higher retail prices and weak consumer traffic.
- Memory costs rose after suppliers cut NAND capacity from mid‑2025 and large AI and data center orders redirected DRAM and V‑NAND away from phones, tightening supply for mobile makers.
- Some handset makers are resisting higher supplier quotes, with reports that OPPO and vivo rejected Samsung’s Q3 storage offers, and several brands are shifting to older chipsets or lower storage configurations to control costs.
- Apple is ramping iPhone 18 volume production and Foxconn has stepped up hiring to meet demand, illustrating how premium vendors can protect sales despite price pressure.
- Analysts from Omdia and IDC expect elevated smartphone prices to persist through the rest of 2026, squeezing low‑end volumes and accelerating a market shift toward mid and high‑price models until normalization around early 2027.