ISLAMABAD: The prices of smartphones may go up for consumers who are planning to buy new devices in 2026 since the analysts have cautioned that the next year is likely to be one of the most expensive ones for buying new gadgets.
A study by Counterpoint, a market research agency, has revealed that the steep rise in the prices of RAM and memory chips in the last couple of months will cause a major impact on smartphone prices in the year to come.
Counterpoint has changed its prediction for global smartphone sales in 2026 from a slight increase to a reduction of up to 2.1 percent, largely due to the inflationary production costs.
The report anticipates that during the April to June period, memory prices might go up by as much as 40 percent. As of now, the prices of RAM have been reported to have already been raised by between 8 and 25 percent, indicating that manufacturers have to deal with a tough situation in the future.
This will lead to the cutting down of smartphone output by the manufacturers. The smaller players will be hurt harder than the bigger ones, like Apple, that have the ability to absorb the increased cost of production without much loss.
According to the industry analysts, there is a lot of action going on behind the scenes, where the companies are trying to introduce product changes to deal with the additional cost. In some instances, they are even using cheaper camera modules and lowering the quality of displays, audio components, and RAM specifications.
According to analysts, the price of smartphones will go up by about 7 percent in 2026 at the most. Consumers who usually buy the top-of-the-line or flagship devices may not feel the full brunt of the price hikes, while the buyers in the budget and mid-range segments will be affected more severely.
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