2026 has just started, but rather ominously for phones and electronics, with reports of their price getting beefier. But you may be surprised at the primary cause. The seemingly cheap component- RAM could now force the price of devices to rise due to the lack of it.
Experts have been raising the possibility of a higher cost of smartphones, PCs, storage devices such as SSD cards, etc. Counterpoint Research has projected that smartphone prices will increase by an average of 6.9% in 2026.
RAM price will also drive up the selling price of smartphones in 2026
The cost of RAM has doubled since October 2025,” reports the BBC. And it’s the very component that lies at the heart of modern-day electronics, from smartphones to computers, smart TVs, tablets, wearables, etc. Further, the use of RAM in data centers that operate AI means demands for RAM have skyrocketed.
Therefore, the imbalance in supply and demand of RAM is likely to cause a price hike for smartphones. Companies will find it harder to meet the spiked demands for RAM. The industry is already finding it difficult to keep up with the orders for RAM.
“We are being quoted costs around 500% higher than they were only a couple of months ago,” stated Steve Mason, general manager of CyberPowerPC, a company that builds computers.
He said that manufacturers will soon end up having to “make pricing decisions. If it uses memory or storage, there is the potential for price increases.”
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AI is also contributing to the higher cost of smartphones
The AI industry is growing in leaps and bounds. The AI companies, AI data centers, cloud computing, etc., require huge RAM power at their disposal to keep their services running. Thus, they require more memory to keep AI performing.
Chris Miller, author of Chip War, says, “There’s been a surge of demand for memory chips, driven above all by the high-end High Bandwidth Memory that AI requires. This has led to higher prices across different types of memory chips.”
Pricey phones in 2026 will leave buyers with tough options
As it stands, the unescapable bottom line should be that smartphones will likely cost more in 2026. On average, major smartphone brands may be able to keep up with similar or slightly increased prices in their upcoming phones. However, the same can’t be said for other competitive brands in the midrange segment.
It’s said that the manufacturing cost for a smartphone would rise by around $30. And this will come down to buyers at the end.
“Counterpoint adds that Apple and Samsung could “weather the next few quarters, but others that don’t have as much wiggle room to manage market share versus profit margins will find it tough” to keep up with the component crunch.”
It says that phone makers might resort to downgrading specifications of their smartphones to avoid raising their prices much higher. “In some models, we are seeing downgrades of components like camera modules and periscope solutions, displays, audio components, and, of course, memory configurations,” said Senior Analyst Shenghao Bai. “Other tactics include reusing old components, streamlining the portfolio, and pushing consumers to higher-specification ‘Pro’ variants and adopting new designs to stimulate upgrades.”
So, the likelihood of pricier smartphones in 2026 leaves buyers with a few options. To either hold on to their old phone or buy the new phone anyway, by paying slightly more than they would have had to.
