The increasing flow of data centers dedicated to AI is causing a massive shortage of RAM, leading to a surge in prices. IDC expects this to lead to a drastic drop in smartphone shipments of around 12.9% this year - the biggest drop in a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, IDC reported that manufacturers shipped 1.26 billion devices in 2025. The firm expects that figure to fall to just 1.12 billion this year, Techradar writes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201eThe memory crisis will cause more than a temporary downturn; it marks a structural reset of the entire market, fundamentally reshaping the long-term TAM [total addressable market], vendor landscape and product mix<\/em>\u201d said Nabila Popal, senior research director at IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Popal said that due to the lack of memory, the average retail price of a smartphone is expected to increase by 14%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201eWe expect consolidation as smaller players pull back and low-end vendors face sharp drops in shipments amid supply constraints and lower demand at higher prices. While shipments will see a record drop, the average selling price of smartphones is expected to rise by 14% to a record $523 this year<\/em>\u201dshe added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Popal also noted that rising component costs could make sub-$100 smartphones unprofitable, with prices for phone makers that make devices at that price point expected to rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The firm said that because of this trend, deliveries to the Middle East and Africa will fall by more than 20% year-on-year. China and the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan) will also see decreases of 10.5% and 13.1% respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n IDC added that it expects RAM prices to stabilize by mid-2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, another analyst firm, Counterpoint, also forecast a decline in smartphone shipments, but projected a smaller drop of just 2.6%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Carl Pei, co-founder and CEO of Nothing, also warned that smartphones will cost more in 2026 as smartphone memory costs rise. \u201eBrands now face a simple choice: raise prices by 30% or more in some cases, or downgrade specifications. The \u00abmore specs for less money\u00bb model on which many value brands have been built is no longer sustainable in 2026<\/em>\u201dhe said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201eAs a result, some markets, particularly the entry and mid-tier segments, are likely to shrink by 20% or more, and brands that have historically dominated these segments will struggle<\/em>\u201dPei added.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cre\u0219terea fluxului centrelor de date dedicat AI provoac\u0103 un deficit masiv de memorii RAM, ceea ce duce la o cre\u0219tere brusc\u0103 a pre\u021burilor. IDC preconizeaz\u0103 c\u0103 acest lucru va duce la o sc\u0103dere drastic\u0103 a livr\u0103rilor de smartphone-uri, de circa 12,9%, \u00een acest an – cea mai mare sc\u0103dere din ultimul deceniu. La \u00eenceputul acestui<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5403,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ai-for-business"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t