What you need to know
- Carl Pei says smartphone prices will rise in 2026 as memory costs surge and brands struggle to absorb the impact.
- DRAM and NAND prices have spiked sharply due to competition between smartphones and AI data centers.
- Memory has become one of the most expensive smartphone components, pushing up the bill of materials for brands.
Carl Pei, founder and CEO of Nothing, has explained why smartphone prices are likely to rise in 2026 and warned that brands operating in the budget and mid-range segments could struggle as a result.
If you've been following industry news lately, prices for both DRAM, such as LPDDR5, and NAND flash memory have been climbing sharply over the past month. These components are critical to smartphones, with DRAM used for RAM and NAND used for storage.
According to CyberPowerPC, global memory prices have surged by as much as 500%, while SSD prices are up nearly 100%, with no immediate signs of cooling down. If these increases were temporary, brands could have absorbed the costs and waited for prices to normalize.
However, that does not appear to be the case, meaning the higher costs are now likely to be passed on to consumers.
Pei took to X to say that smartphone prices, including Nothing's own devices, will increase in 2026. He noted that the industry has long operated under the assumption that smartphone components would inevitably become cheaper over time, but that assumption no longer holds true.
Why smartphone prices will increase in 2026
Much of the increase is driven by competition for the same memory components used in AI data centers. As smartphones and AI infrastructure now compete directly for DRAM and NAND supply, prices have risen sharply as a result.
Pei added that memory costs have already increased by up to three times and are quickly becoming one of the most expensive components in a smartphone. This has significantly raised the bill of materials for manufacturers, with some estimates suggesting memory modules that cost under $20 a year ago could exceed $100 by the end of the year for top-tier devices.
As a result, your next smartphone is likely to be more expensive than it otherwise would have been. Pei also confirmed that prices across Nothing's smartphone portfolio will "inevitably" increase, partly because some devices launching in Q1 2026 will move to faster UFS 3.1 storage.
While this may not be entirely surprising coming from Pei, Nothing is one of the first major Android brands to publicly confirm that smartphone prices will rise in 2026.
In other news, Samsung has reportedly been considering price increases for the upcoming Galaxy S26 series, although there is no official confirmation yet. The Galaxy S26 series is expected to launch on February 25, 2026.
