Storage prices "soar," prompting a wave of price adjustments in the smartphone industry

Recently, smartphone brands like OPPO and vivo announced price increases for some products, signaling an industry-wide “price hike” trend in mobile phones.

“After March 16, the prices of OPPO A series, K series, and OnePlus in stores have increased by 200 to 500 yuan,” a staff member at an OPPO store in Xicheng District, Beijing, told reporters. The affected models are mostly popular, already released models. For example, the OPPO K13 Turbo now starts at 2,299 yuan, up 500 yuan from before.

Reporters learned that other major phone brands have not announced price adjustments yet, but staff at related stores said some large-capacity models are already hard to restock. Some staff also mentioned that, as per usual, new models tend to drop in price after some time on the market, but many phones launched in the second half of last year have not been discounted, effectively resulting in a hidden price increase.

The main reason cited for the price hikes is the continuous rise in storage chip prices.

The National Development and Reform Commission’s Price Monitoring Center recently stated that since September 2025, due to explosive demand growth and a sharp shortage of capacity, the global memory market has seen an increasing gap.

Data from the center shows that as of January this year, prices for the two main storage chip products, DRAM and NAND flash, reached their highest levels since 2016. For example, the average contract price for mainstream models in January was $11.50 for DDR4 8Gb (1G8), up about 83% from September last year; NAND flash (128Gb 16G8 MLC) averaged $9.50, nearly 1.5 times higher than September last year.

“The fundamental reason for this super cycle is the unexpected iteration and upgrade of AI large models, which drives massive data storage and processing needs,” said Wei Gang, Sales Director at Hefei Ruike Microelectronics. Major memory manufacturers like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are shifting capacity toward higher-margin high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and other products, leading to continued tight supply of DRAM and NAND flash used in smartphones and consumer electronics.

Currently, Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron’s inventories of DRAM and NAND are at historic lows, with only 3 to 5 weeks of stock on average, indicating extreme shortages.

This structural capacity squeeze directly impacts the procurement costs of storage chips for smartphones. Research reports show that storage chips now account for 30% to 40% of the material costs of smartphones, up from 10% to 15%. For mid- and low-end models with thin profit margins, this cost imbalance has pushed some budget phones into negative gross profit territory.

Cost pressures are cascading, and smartphone manufacturers have more options than just raising prices.

“Some brands are adjusting product strategies, such as reducing storage capacity or camera count on certain models,” said Li Yuancheng, a technology industry analyst at Huatai Securities Research Institute. For example, some new models have increased in price by 1,000 to 2,000 yuan compared to previous generations but feature upgraded processors and screens. They adopt a “configuration upgrade + significant price increase” strategy to offset rising storage and processor costs.

Reporters observed that some manufacturers are accelerating ecosystem development to enhance product value; others are focusing on R&D in foldable screens and imaging to seek differentiation; some are optimizing supply chain management and internal cost reductions to absorb pressures.

How long will this cycle last?

Industry insiders believe that the structural factors causing storage shortages still exist. While capacity expansion and the participation of some domestic small- and medium-sized storage suppliers may ease supply tensions somewhat, this is unlikely to fundamentally change the trend.

The long cycle of capacity expansion is another factor. Hu Yang, an analyst at Southwest Securities Research Institute, said building a new storage wafer factory takes 1.5 to 2 years. Even if large-scale investment begins now, new capacity will only be significantly released by the end of 2027. Considering complex processes and supply bottlenecks like cleanroom requirements, expansion is challenging.

International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that this structural shortage of storage will continue to ferment through 2026 and possibly extend into 2027. Although price growth may slow in the second half of the year, it is unlikely to fall back to 2025 levels.

“Chip suppliers, end brands, and channels all need to prepare for this long-term structural adjustment,” Li Yuancheng said.

Industry experts also remind consumers to view phone purchases rationally and avoid blindly following trends. Those with urgent needs should prioritize models with good reputation and sufficient daily-use configurations, and make good use of policies like national subsidies. Additionally, considering reliable second-hand phones or replacing batteries in old devices for continued use are practical options.

( Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, March 18. Reporter Zhou Yuan, Wu Huijun )