{"id":311432,"date":"2026-01-30T11:25:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T11:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/311432\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T11:25:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T11:25:13","slug":"phone-chips-are-getting-scarcer-and-more-expensive-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/311432\/","title":{"rendered":"Phone chips are getting scarcer and more expensive in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img class=\"e_Ug\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\"  title=\"EoY Phones 2025 3\"  alt=\"EoY Phones 2025 3\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/EoY-Phones-2025-3.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Ryan Haines \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n<p>TL;DR<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Global smartphone chipset shipments are expected to fall 7% in 2026, but industry revenue is still set to grow in double digits.<\/li>\n<li>AI-driven data center demand is pushing chipmakers toward high-margin HBM, driving up DRAM prices and squeezing phone makers.<\/li>\n<li>Budget phones under $150 are taking the biggest hit as rising costs make low-end devices harder to sustain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The smartphone industry is facing a paradox. Counterpoint Research <a href=\"https:\/\/counterpointresearch.com\/en\/insights\/Smartphone-SoC-Market-Shipments-in-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">reports<\/a> that global smartphone chipset shipments will drop by 7% in 2026. Normally, fewer shipments <a href=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/ram-shortage-prices-explained-3626017\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">would mean trouble for the industry<\/a>, but this time, manufacturers are still expected to see double-digit revenue growth.<\/p>\n<p>So, why are shipments dropping? Part of the reason is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/smartphone-price-increases-2026-3627848\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">growing demand from data centers<\/a>. As AI becomes more common, chipmakers are shifting their resources to produce high-margin HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) for large server farms. This shift has caused DRAM prices to rise sharply, making it harder for manufacturers to create affordable phones without taking a loss.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest impact will be on phones under $150, which will be hit hardest by rising costs, according to the report. As a result, companies are putting more effort into high-end models where profits are higher. At the same time, the industry is moving from 3nm to 2nm process nodes. Samsung has already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/samsung-exynos-2600-announced-3626595\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">fired the first shot with its Exynos 2600<\/a>, which stands as the world\u2019s first 2nm GAA chipset, and other companies like Apple and Qualcomm are following to stay competitive.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Don\u2019t want to miss the best from Android Authority?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/andauth.co\/AAGooglePreferredSource\" class=\"e_do\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\"><img class=\"e_Ug\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"google preferred source badge light@2x\"  alt=\"google preferred source badge light@2x\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google_preferred_source_badge_light@2x.png\"\/><img class=\"e_Ug\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"google preferred source badge dark@2x\"  alt=\"google preferred source badge dark@2x\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google_preferred_source_badge_dark@2x.png\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Despite these changes, MediaTek remains the top player. Many people with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/best-cheap-phones-3615641\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">budget and mid-range phones<\/a> recognize the brand, and it is expected to hold a strong 34% market share in 2026, Counterpoint Research says. This is only a slight drop from 34.4% in 2025, but it keeps MediaTek ahead of the competition.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"e_Ug\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  title=\"smartphone soc shipment chart 2025 vs 2026\"  alt=\"smartphone soc shipment chart 2025 vs 2026\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/smartphone-soc-shipment-chart-2025-vs-2026.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Qualcomm is in second place with a 24.7% share, and Apple holds onto its premium market at 18.1%. Samsung is the only major company increasing its share, reaching 12.1% by focusing more on its own chip designs. MediaTek is staying competitive by using ARM designs for its Dimensity 9600, which helps keep its prices lower than Qualcomm\u2019s custom chips.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Apple and Qualcomm are focusing on high-end devices. Customers appreciate the strong performance of their premium chips, and with about one in three phones in 2026 expected to cost over $500, both companies are set to earn more even if they sell fewer units.<\/p>\n<p>If you plan to upgrade your phone in 2026, you will get more advanced features, but you will probably pay a higher price. Top-end phones are expected to reach 100 TOPS in on-device AI performance, and 90% of premium models will support AI features that work without an internet connection. For mid-range phones between $100 and $500, you may need to rely more on cloud-based AI.<\/p>\n<p>To keep costs lower, manufacturers are using cloud offloading to provide advanced AI features. Smartphone shipments probably will not fully recover until at least 2027. In the meantime, expect brands to simplify their product lines, focus on their own chips like Google\u2019s Tensor or Samsung\u2019s Exynos, and highlight the improved performance to justify higher prices.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you for being part of our community. Read our\u00a0<a class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/android-authority-comment-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/www.androidauthority.com\/android-authority-comment-policy\/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">Comment Policy<\/a> before posting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ryan Haines \/ Android Authority TL;DR Global smartphone chipset shipments are expected to fall 7% in 2026, but&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":311433,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[257],"tags":[18,19,17,279,5756,152113,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-311432","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-mobile","12":"tag-smartphones","13":"tag-soc","14":"tag-technology"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115983805671467560","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}