DIGITIMES observes that memory prices have surged dramatically recently, with DRAM prices rising sharply and aggressively in the fourth quarter of 2025. This double-digit quarterly increase is expected to continue into the first quarter of 2026, severely impacting shipments and sales across consumer electronics, including smartphones.
Based on supply chain information, DIGITIMES has revised down its global smartphone shipment forecast for 2026 to 1,202.2 billion units, adjusting the annual growth rate to -1.6%.
Compared to the December 2025 estimate of 1,255.4 billion units, DIGITIMES has lowered the overall global smartphone shipment forecast for 2026 by 53.2 million units, reducing the annual growth rate by 4.4pp. Apple and Samsung Electronics are expected to experience less impact from rising memory prices in their 2026 smartphone shipments and will still achieve positive growth.
Chart 2: Shipment to China and non-China markets, 2024-2026 (m units)
Chart 3: Top-9 smartphone vendors' shipments, 2025-2026 (m units)
Chart 4: CXMT 12-inch wafer production line monthly capacity, 2022-2026
Chart 5: Shipments by 5G and non-5G smartphones, 2024-2026 (m units)
Chart 6: China and non-China markets 5G smartphone shipments, 2024-2026 (m units)
Chart 7: AP, DRAM capacity and prices of Android GenAI smartphones, 2024-2026
Chart 8: Shipments by Gen AI- and non-Gen AI-supported models, 2024-2026 (m units)
Chart 9: Estimated prices of upcoming foldable iPhone and competitors, 2026 (US$)
Chart 11: Shipments by foldable and non-foldable models, 2024-2026 (m units)
