Will mobile phones face a price increase wave due to the rising memory prices? A frontline investigation by reporters is here.

On one hand, memory chips have seen continuous price increases for multiple quarters. On the other hand, the price adjustment of end - products that have not been fully launched is quietly triggering a psychological game among consumers. Some are rushing to make purchases in advance, while others are holding back their money and waiting and seeing.

"It's said that the price of memory sticks is rising. Will the price of mobile phones also go up?" Recently, many consumers have walked into mobile phone stores with such questions to make inquiries.

According to reporters from Star Market Daily, on one hand, memory chips have seen continuous price increases for multiple quarters. On the other hand, the price adjustment of end - products that have not been fully launched is quietly changing consumers' purchasing rhythm. Some place orders in advance to lock in the price, some hold back their money and wait for promotions, and some are afraid of both price increases and missing out on discounts.

This psychological game triggered by "to raise the price or not" and "to buy or not" is prematurely stirring up the mobile phone market in 2026.

The latest forecast from IDC shows that this cost storm triggered by memory will reshape the global consumer electronics market landscape in 2026. Regarding the personal computer market, IDC predicts that the global personal computer market sales volume will decline by 11.3% in 2026, and the global smartphone market sales volume will decline by 12.9%.

Reporter Visits the Mobile Phone Market: The "Price Increase" Rumor Hasn't Spread, but Consumers' "Hearts" Are Already Moved

Affected by the continuous price increases of memory and storage chips for multiple quarters, rumors that the Chinese mobile phone market may face a new round of price adjustments are continuously spreading in the mobile phone circle.

Recently, reporters from Star Market Daily visited stores of multiple brands including Xiaomi, Huawei, and Honor and learned that most of the currently available products have not received price increase notices, but there is a possibility of price adjustment for the new models to be launched. Meanwhile, some consumers have entered the stores to make inquiries due to concerns about price increases, releasing their purchasing demand in advance.

"A customer who deals with memory sticks came to the store yesterday. He predicted that there might be a wave of price increases for mobile phones after the Lantern Festival," a clerk at a Huawei store revealed to reporters from Star Market Daily. However, the clerk emphasized that the store has not received a notice of mobile phone price increase yet. "There is a greater possibility of a price increase for computers."

A clerk at an Honor store also revealed to reporters from Star Market Daily that due to the price increase of components such as memory, the price of Honor's computer product, MagicBook Art 14, has been adjusted. "It was originally 8,499 yuan, and now it has risen to 8,999 yuan." However, the reporters noticed that on e - commerce platforms such as Taobao, the price of this product is still relatively favorable, with a selling price of about 8,422 yuan.

"For the currently available mobile phone products, we haven't received a price increase notice yet," a clerk at an Honor store revealed to reporters from Star Market Daily. The new folding - screen product Magic V6, which is currently being pre - ordered, is expected to be on sale in mid - March, and the price may be slightly higher than that of the previous generation, Magic V5. "The starting price of V6 should also be 8,999 yuan, but the 1TB version may be more expensive than the 1TB version of V5. The prices of other memory configurations are still uncertain."

Reporters from Star Market Daily checked e - commerce platforms and found that the original price of the 12GB + 256GB version of Honor Magic V5 is 8,999 yuan, and after using coupons on Taobao, the selling price is 8,909 yuan. According to the data from the e - commerce price query applet "Manmanmai", the price of this product dropped to a low of about 8,670 yuan on October 11, 2025, and since then, the price has been hovering between 8,799 yuan and 8,999 yuan.

A clerk at a Xiaomi store told reporters from Star Market Daily that currently, Xiaomi products have also not received a price increase notice, but he has also noticed the online rumors that the memory price increase may lead to mobile phone price adjustments.

When asked when it is more cost - effective to buy, the clerk replied to reporters from Star Market Daily: "Buying now definitely won't be a loss. Whether there will be a price increase in the future is uncertain, but we offer a 30 - day price guarantee. Even if the price drops due to an event later, the price difference will be compensated to the consumers."

Although the mobile phone price increase has not been fully implemented, the market expectation has quietly affected consumer psychology. Facing the possible future price adjustment, many consumers have expressed their concerns to reporters from Star Market Daily.

Ms. Chen, a consumer, had her eyes on the Huawei Mate X7 before. She originally planned to wait for a big promotion to make the purchase, but now she is in a "dilemma".

"I don't know whether I should buy it now. Some people on the Internet say that the new models will have a price increase, but the currently available ones may not. I'm thinking about whether I should wait for a promotion like the 618 event," she said frankly. "If the price of the existing products doesn't increase, it's definitely more cost - effective to buy during the event. But I'm also worried that the price of the currently available models may also be raised later. I want to wait for the discount, but I'm afraid that what I'll wait for is a price increase."

It is worth mentioning that on March 4th, there was news that multiple brands had successively issued mobile phone price increase notices. Among them, the price of Redmi Turbo 5 will be raised by 100 yuan. However, reporters from Star Market Daily compared and found that in early February, a consumer bought this product at a price of about 1,699 yuan. Currently, after superimposing national subsidies on the Taobao platform, the selling price of this product still remains at about 1,699 yuan.

How Will the Memory Price Increase Rewrite the End - Market Landscape This Year?

As concerns about the price increase of DRAM and NAND flash memory at the end of 2025 intensify, manufacturers in the PC and smartphone fields are actively responding, trying to gain an advantage before this cost pressure is passed on.

IDC expects that the PC market shipments in the first quarter of 2026 will be much higher than the previous forecast in November. The situation in the smartphone market is more severe, and it is expected that the shipments in the first quarter of 2026 will decline by 6.8%.

As the memory price rises, some manufacturers (especially smaller ones) have difficulty ensuring or paying for sufficient supplies. IDC analysts expect that the smartphone shipments will decline significantly from the second quarter.

"The average selling price (ASP) will increase, but the sales volume demand will decrease accordingly," an IDC analyst pointed out. Due to the inflated average selling price, even though the revenue seems stable, the annual sales volume will still show a year - on - year negative growth.

Regarding the personal computer market, IDC currently predicts that the global market will decline by 11.3% in 2026, but due to the increase in the average selling price, the revenue will increase by 1.6%. The market is expected to stabilize in 2027, and the rebound will be postponed to 2028.

The outlook for the smartphone market is even bleaker. IDC predicts that the global market will decline by 12.9% in 2026, and the revenue will slightly decline by 0.5%. It is expected that the smartphone market will grow moderately by 1.9% in 2027 and strongly rebound to 5.2% in 2028.

What's more worthy of attention is that this supply challenge will be a long - term battle.

IDC expects that the memory supply challenge will continue until 2026 and may extend into 2027. Although the memory price increase rate will slow down in the second half of this year, the price will continue to rise and remain at a high level. "Based on the current assumptions, the memory price will not fall back to the 2025 level."

IDC analysts point out that the structural factors causing the memory shortage still exist, namely the surge in demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure and the competition for DRAM and NAND flash memory production capacity among consumer electronic devices. With the increase in memory production capacity and the entry of small - scale memory suppliers in China, the supply may be alleviated. However, this is not enough to fundamentally offset the memory shortage, nor can it change the direction of the crisis.

In the view of industry insiders, the subsequent impacts are becoming more and more obvious and will reshape the competitive landscape of the personal computer and smartphone markets, as well as other device markets such as tablets, XR headsets, wearables, and game consoles.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Star Market Daily". Author: Li Jiayi, Huang Xinyi. Republished by 36Kr with permission.