You don’t understand just how expensive Samsung and Apple phones are about to get

The tech industry is currently experiencing a surge in prices for components because supply is being gobbled up by new AI data centers. Smartphone prices are about to rise, but just in case you weren’t aware of just how bad the situation is about to get, a new report should help make it very clear.

Spoiler alert, it’s ridiculous, and you need to get a new phone right now.

Biggest price hike in 26 years

According to a new analysis (translated source), the smartphone and PC industries are about to see their biggest price hike in 26 years. This is mostly due to RAM prices going crazy as supply completely dries up because, you guessed it, AI needs a ton of memory to function.

And next year’s price hike won’t be an isolated incident. Analysts expect prices to keep skyrocketing until at least through 2027.

Samsung is negotiating desperately

Apparently, Samsung and other phone manufacturers are trying very hard to secure supply for their upcoming products. Google has actually fired an executive (translated source) that failed to obtain enough memory inventory in time, and the company is actively hiring for experts who can help it secure supply from Korea.

The situation is dire, and these companies know it. Samsung is struggling with Galaxy S26 pricing, and has already actually rolled back a camera upgrade for the base model Galaxy S26 to keep prices not too high. Xiaomi, meanwhile, released its newest flagship — the Xiaomi 17 Ultra — months earlier, just so that it could launch it when the going wasn’t as tough.

You should get a phone now

Obviously, if you have a phone that has many years of software support remaining, then you should hold on to it very tightly. However, if you were planning to upgrade sooner or later, you should probably do it sooner.

There’s no guarantee that the Galaxy S26 phones or the iPhone 18 will remain reasonably priced after launch. By the time Apple’s newest flagships come out, the industrywide price hikes will be in full swing, and there’s no telling just how ridiculous the price tags are going to be. It also makes me scared for the foldable iPhone, which was last rumored to be around $2,400, before all this news about pricing surges.

So…yeah, you should probably hurry. We don’t know how bad it might get.

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