Phone Prices Are Rising in 2026: Here’s Why You Should Upgrade Now

Now might be the perfect time if you had been planning to upgrade your phone soon. Experts are advising that the price of smartphones, whether premium or budget models, is going to increase drastically in the next few months. It is not only speculation, it is already noticeable in several companies such as Apple, OnePlus, and iQOO where their flagship gadgets are tagged a lot higher than the previous year’s versions. On top of that, it is expected that even the most basic of phones will see price increases.

Reasons for Price Increases

A global chip shortage, which is primarily due to the huge demand for AI data centers, is the main reason. The modern smartphones and advanced AI servers are using the same memory chips, specifically DRAM, to carry out the complex and demanding tasks efficiently. AI companies are paying whatever it costs, the manufacturers of chips are putting these high-margin buyers at the forefront, and thus, the smartphone makers end up with increased production costs.

Counterpoint Research has the data that the trend mentioned above is very much there for a long time. As the AI infrastructure expands, the competition for the critical components like DRAM will also get very high and this eventually will have a direct impact on the consumers.

What It Means for Consumers

The negative forecast for 2026:

• The prices of chips may go up by 40% in the first half of the year, which will also be the case for smartphones.
• The least expensive smartphones will be affected the most; the production costs of such phones will increase by 20%–30%.
• The worldwide sales of smartphones may drop by 2.1% as companies will raise prices to maintain the same profit and demand balance.

Even though the leading brands, such as Apple and Samsung, might save some of their products from the extreme increases, the lesser-known companies like Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo, and all others are sure to transfer the higher production costs to the customers.

What You Should Do

If you were thinking of upgrading your phone, it might be a good idea to do it sooner rather than later. It is possible that waiting will translate into paying a lot more for the same model next year. The smartphone market is going through a boom of high prices due to the escalating demand for chips driven by AI growth, thus, making the early purchase a wise one.