Chai! My people, this one na serious matter wey don land! If you dey follow tech gist, you go sabi say smartphone wey we de use don dey face serious wahala for price front.
As AI na big boss wey don take over everywhere, the memory chips wey dem dey use for dem smartphones don dey expensive pass ever before. You fit ask, wetin concern AI with my phone? E get plenty to dooh!
According to some big analysts wey sabi ground well well, Android phone makers go face heavy wahala as dem dey prepare for 2026. Dem dey feel the heat wey memory chips supply don dey gather, because all the production don dey shift go AI data centres wey dey demand more memory to run dem new technologies.
As per waiting International Data Corporation (IDC) talk, memory wey dem use for AI servers don collect plenty space wey e dey come from global production. So, na wetin we go see na how the price of smartphones go waka up up!
For market, e no go too sweet for low and mid-range brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Realme because dem no get plenty margin to follow carry the increased cost. Dem dey face serious pressure just to keep their products affordable.
Meanwhile, big boys like Apple and Samsung, dem dey manage to corner their own side well with long-term supply agreements wey fit help dem weather the storm. But dem no go fit upgrade their RAM anytime soon, as e dey look like say e go remain 12GB for their new models.
IDC drop the gist say we fit expect smartphone prices to rise up to 5% on the low side and up to 8% on the high side. Dis one fit cause people to dey hold their phones longer before dem go think of upgrading, wey no go sweet for everybody.
And no be lie, Counterpoint Research don talk say global smartphone shipments go drop by about 2.1% for 2026, as people no go dey feel the heat wey the price go bring. Low-end market go suffer pass, because the bill of materials don hike up for 20% to 30% this year.
Matter wey dey affect low-cost devices dey gree plenty signals. Even Nothing Phone 3a Lite don increase price for India because of memory supply wahala. Dem don raise am by Rs 2,000 across all variants just to keep up with demand for AI hardware.
Omo, it no easy at all! As prices dey rise, e go make many people to dey think twice before dem carry new phone. And if more brands start to follow, this trend fit increase everywhere wey we dey see midrange phones. So, my people, if you carry your eye for smartphone market, better get ready for wetin dey come!
Na so e be, if you no wan carry the burden of inflated prices, e go better make we dey plan our purchases well and hold on tight to our existing phones, until e reach the right time to switch.
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