‘More than 600%’ memory price spike rattles China’s phone and broadband makers

A global memory supply shock is sweeping through the electronics industry, as surging component costs threaten to squeeze China’s smartphone and broadband equipment manufacturers. New data from TrendForce and Counterpoint Research point to mounting risks across the consumer electronics supply chain, with memory prices soaring amid a supply crunch driven by relentless demand from artificial intelligence data centres. Prices for memory used in consumer devices – from PCs and entry-level smartphones to routers and set-top boxes – had risen by more than 600 per cent over the past year, according to Counterpoint Research data released on Thursday. For many Chinese tech companies, the fallout is becoming a fight for survival. Rising memory costs were expected to weigh on global smartphone production in 2026, with output projected to fall about 10 per cent year on year to roughly 1.1 billion units, TrendForce said in a report on Wednesday. Domestic vendors focused on price-sensitive, entry-level segments – including smartphone vendors Xiaomi and Transsion – were particularly exposed to cost swings and were likely to see “significant downward revisions to production” in 2026, the firm said. Both companies have already moved to rein in shipment targets. Beijing-based Xiaomi has cut its latest shipment guidance for upstream suppliers by between 10 million and 70 million units, while Shenzhen-based Transsion has lowered its annual target by 30 million to 45 million units. Huawei Technologies, by contrast, is expected to remain relatively resilient. “Huawei is likely to experience the smallest production adjustment under the bear-case scenario, and could even post growth against the broader market trend,” TrendForce said, citing the company’s more “flexible pricing strategies.” Beyond smartphones, broadband hardware is facing even steeper cost pressures. Prices for consumer memory used in routers and set-top boxes had jumped nearly sevenfold over the past nine months, Counterpoint said. Memory now accounted for more than 20 per cent of a router’s cost, up from just 3 per cent a year earlier, it added. In China, the surge is poised to complicate the country’s aggressive 5G roll-out, led by major telecoms operators China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom. Operators were likely to face higher procurement costs for routers and set-top boxes as the “memory winter” persisted, potentially slowing deployment timelines, Counterpoint said. Telcos would need to monitor price dynamics closely, identify which device makers had secured adequate supply, and track shifts in component costs, the firm’s analysts added.