Xiaomi's President Alerts: Smartphones Will Be More Expensive in 2026 Thanks to AI
aiThursday, 20 November 2025 at 04:33
Xiaomi recently published its results for the third quarter of 2025, and there were some points to consider. According to Xiaomi President Lu Weibing, the next year might be tough for those who like smartphones. In the company's report, a clear alert came out. Due to the global memory chip prices rising, the smartphone prices will eventually rise. The reason? The AI trend keeps demanding more memory production and investment, and companies will prioritize it over smartphones.
The AI Boom Makes Suppliers Prioritize Components for Data Centers
Memory is becoming increasingly expensive due to the AI boom. Memory makers like Samsung are prioritizing memory production for data centers, as the AI market is currently the most lucrative. This is expected to raise smartphone prices, and the effect will become increasingly exponential in the coming months.
According to Xiaomi President Lu Weibing, all of this means next year's smartphones will be more expensive than this year's. He says, "I Expect Pressure to be much heavier next year than this year. Overall, consumers are likely to see a sizeable rise in product retail prices. Some of the pressure may have to be addressed through price hikes, but price increases alone won't be enough to digest it".
Lu Weibing - Xiaomi's Group President
Key Highlights
- AI demand is pushing memory makers to prioritize data centers over phones
- Global memory chip prices keep increasing, raising phone production costs
- Lu Weibing says next year will bring heavier pressure than 2025
- Price hikes may be unavoidable, but they won’t fully solve rising costs
- Both budget and flagship phones are expected to get more expensive
AI demand is pushing memory makers to prioritize data centers over phones. Global memory chip prices keep increasing, raising phone production costs. Lu Weibing says next year will bring heavier pressure than 2025. Price hikes may be unavoidable, but they won’t fully solve rising costs. Both budget and flagship phones are expected to get more expensive.
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Smartphone Prices Will Continue To Increase
Considering this, the inevitable and continuous price hike in the smartphone market is not going to stop, reverse, or slow down in 2026. Every device is about to become more expensive, from the low-end to the high-end smartphone. Of course, that is Lu Weibing's prediction, but even in the most optimistic scenario, it's hard to expect companies not to prioritize AI over other trends.
The smartphones used to be cheaper in some segments, but that time belongs to the past now. It seems that the upward trend won't see a relief in the near future.
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