Report: 2026 is the worst year for smartphone sales and an expected 14% increase in prices
On Thursday, the International Data Corporation (IDC) expected that the global smartphone market will witness its largest sales decline ever in 2026, reaching its lowest level in more than 10 years, as a result of the rise in Memory chip prices, which in turn led to an increase in device costs.
The research institution expected in a report that smartphone shipments would decline by 12.9% to reach 1.12 billion units this year.
The report indicated that this decline would severely affect device manufacturers. "Android" Low cost, while my company Samsung and Apple are positioned to gain market share as smaller competitors struggle or exit the market altogether.
Francisco Geronimo, vice president of global customer devices at IDC, said: "What we are witnessing is not a temporary stress, but a massive, tsunami-like shock, originating in the memory supply chain".
Analysts pointed out that the rise in component costs will erode the profit margins of smartphone manufacturers that focus on economical devices, which will force them to pass these costs on to consumers at a time when demand for high-priced products is declining.
The average selling price of smartphones is expected to rise by 14% to reach a record level of $523 this year, as manufacturers move towards producing models with higher profit margins to compensate for the increasing costs.
/>The institution expects a slight recovery of 2% in 2027 as the crisis subsides, followed by a recovery of 5.2% in 2028, noting that the market is unlikely to return to its previous levels.
Nabila Popal, research director in the mobile phone tracking department at the International Data Corporation, said that the memory chip crisis will cause more than just a temporary decline; It will constitute a restructuring of the entire market".
She warned that the
