As the ongoing RAM/storage crisis continues to send shockwaves through the tech industry, a new report says that smartphone price hikes are “inevitable” while also further pointing out that entry-level phones are the hardest hit.
Counterpoint Research Korea reports that the prices of DRAM (memory) and NAND (storage) continue to skyrocket going into Q2 2026. That’s having a major impact on the smartphone market, which breaks down into three categories.
The sub-$200 devices are considered “entry-level,” with the rising costs leaving a smartphone with 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of eMMC storage with those two components as a whopping 43% of the total cost of the bill of materials (BOM). As analyst @Jukanlosreve points out, entry-level smartphones will suffer heavily, as will associated brands such as various Chinese smartphone makers as well as chipset maker MediaTek.
Even flagship devices ($800 and up) could see their BOM rise by $100-150 in Q2 2026, with a hypothetical device with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.1 storage taking up 23% and 18% of the total BOM.
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“Mid-range” devices, those sold between $400-600, would also see major increases, but would be the least impacted of the bunch. A device with 8GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB UFS 4.0 storage – a somewhat rare combination, but similar to the Pixel 10 – would see those components account for 20% and 16%, respectively, of the BOM.
Counterpoint further notes two potential paths forward for brands – lessening reliance on entry-level smartphones and reducing the shipments of those devices, as well as shifting focus within the device to lower specs that are deemed “non-essential” to make up for the higher costs elsewhere. Entry-level phones are now considered a “risk” for “short-term losses.”
Still, the report says that “smartphone retail price hikes are expected to be inevitable in 2026,” something we’re already seeing with Samsung’s more expensive mid-range Galaxy A phones, price hikes on Lenovo tablets, and more.
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