Memory price surges are reshaping the global smartphone market outlook for 2026, according to insiders at Sunny Optical. Significant order reductions from Chinese manufacturers amid soaring memory costs signal challenges ahead for the industry.

Despite ongoing US restrictions on Huawei's access to 5G smartphone chips and Google Mobile Services (GMS), the company has re-established a strong position in China by advancing its HarmonyOS ecosystem and pushing for semiconductor component breakthroughs. In 2025, Huawei briefly returned to the top of China's quarterly smartphone sales rankings and currently remains among the market's top three vendors by share.

Lenovo is aiming to double its business in India over the next three years, leveraging strong growth in its Motorola smartphone segment and its infrastructure and services verticals, according to company executives. Lenovo's Asia Pacific leadership highlighted domestic consumption and the "India for the world" strategy as central to the company's future expansion, with India emerging as one of Lenovo's fastest-growing markets worldwide, according to the Economic Times.

Although CES 2026 is not traditionally a smartphone-focused event, TCL drew attention with its new NxtPaper 70 Pro smartphone. The device features NxtPaper 4.0 display technology, with its most notable difference from conventional smartphones being a dedicated shortcut key that allows users to switch display modes.

Notebook hinge maker Jarllytec said that its confirmed orders for the 2026 3C product lines include one new China-branded foldable smartphone model, which is scheduled to enter mass production and shipment in the first half of the year. The company is also pursuing orders for new models in the second half. New laptop models from US-based laptop brands are expected to ramp up shipments in the first half, along with continued contributions from high-priced China-branded foldable notebooks. The LCD-related business is expected to remain relatively moderate.

India is weighing a sweeping set of new security requirements that could force smartphone makers to share sensitive source code with government-appointed laboratories, according to Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter and a review of confidential documents, reigniting a long-running tug of war between New Delhi and global technology companies over privacy, surveillance, and control of digital infrastructure.

China's smartphone industry opened 2026 with a major consolidation move, as Realme formally returned to the Oppo group as a sub-brand and integrated with fellow sub-brand OnePlus. The restructuring is intended to strengthen competitiveness through shared resources and coordinated brand strategy amid mounting supply chain pressure and intensifying market competition.

With the European telecom market recovering and countries accelerating network upgrade plans, magnetic component manufacturer LinkCom reported that shipments of PoE power transformers and LAN-type transformers maintained steady growth, boosting sales of its core magnetic component business. This resulted in a significant 13% increase compared with 2024 and helped lift full-year 2025 revenue to a record high.

Taiwan's telecommunications industry is navigating a "new three kingdoms era" two years after the December 2023 mergers between Taiwan Mobile (TWM) and Taiwan Star Telecom (T-Star), alongside Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET) merging with Asia Pacific Telecom (APT). The National Communications Commission (NCC) recently assessed the post-merger performance of these operators, revealing divergent strategic outcomes and financial trajectories.