Smartphone market set for biggest decline in 2026 on memory price surge IDC report says

There is a bad news for the smartphone market. The smartphone market may fall drastically in 2026. Data analysis report has revealed that smartphone shipments may decline by up to 13% in 2026. The reason for this has been said to be the decreasing supply and increasing prices of memory chips. This will have the biggest impact on the low-budget smartphone market as memory chips become expensive, and smaller companies may increase their prices. Whereas big players like Apple, Samsung will be seen strengthening their position. Let us know how!

The smartphone market is going to see a big decline in 2026. International Data Corporation (IDC) This claim has been made in the report. reuters According to, the report says that the global smartphone market may see a decline of up to 12.9% in 2026. Shipments will decrease and prices of smartphones will increase. The reason for this has been attributed to the shortage of the memory chip. Chip prices will also increase due to less supply. Due to this, cheap smartphones will be affected the most. Companies will be forced to increase their prices and this will directly impact the number of sales and shipments.

The report indicates that small companies making cheap smartphones are going to be under tremendous pressure. These companies will either increase the prices of smartphone devices to remain in the market, or will be forced to exit the market. “What we’re seeing is not a temporary squeeze, but a tsunami-like shock across the memory supply chain,” said Francisco Geronimo, vice president of Worldwide Client Devices at IDC.

metaThe rapid expansion of AI infrastructure by tech companies like Google and Microsoft has captured a large share of the supply of memory chips. This has driven up prices as manufacturers now prioritize components for high-margin data centers over consumer devices. Memory chips, or DRAM, are an essential part of smartphones as they enable power-hungry apps to run smoothly.

The average selling price of smartphones is projected to increase by 14% in 2026. The position of companies like Apple and Samsung may become stronger as they will focus on making and selling high margin models. At the same time, cheap smartphones from small companies will not be available to consumers and they can turn to expensive models.