A couple of days ago, I wrote a news story about how smartphone prices could soar across segments, and now, we’re seeing the theory in action, starting with the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. The handset’s base variant costs more than its predecessor, and neither Samsung nor Apple is entirely immune either.
Here me out and pay attention. Last year, the Chinese manufacturer launched the Xiaomi 15 Ultra at CNY 6,499 for the baseline variant with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The variant with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage was priced at CNY 6,999.
Xiaomi’s pricing tells an uncomfortable story
However, this year, there’s no Xiaomi 17 Ultra with 256GB of storage. Instead, the brand is upselling its customers to the new baseline variant with 512GB of storage and 12GB of RAM for CNY 6,999, the price at which buyers got the 16GB RAM variant last year.
The 16GB RAM variant of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra costs CNY 7,499, indicating that, for the exact RAM and storage configuration, Chinese buyers are paying a CNY 500 premium, which is about 7.1%. The fact that the baseline variant of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra now ships with less RAM and that buyers have to pay more to get the same memory capacity is a warning.
Although this can’t be used as a reference point, since each brand has different profit margins and the capacity to absorb the increased price, the memory crisis isn’t a theory anymore: it’s real, and it could impact the smartphones you’re used to seeing and buying in the United States in no time.
If you’ve read my previous story on the issue, I mentioned that smartphone makers (including popular brands) can address it in one of three ways: raising prices, cutting margins, or quietly downgrading RAM. Xiaomi, my dear readers, has adopted a mix of the first and third options, along with removing the lower-memory option.
Same price, less RAM: Where the real hike begins
In the future, expect this to be a trend in the smartphone market. You’ll see fewer base variants (ones with lower memory), higher default memory and storage models (as they command a higher price), or the same starting price for fewer gigabytes of memory. And neither Samsung nor Apple is immune to this.
Both companies rely on memory tiering to drive profits, in which base models with lower RAM serve as anchor or entry points to lineups, and higher variants (with more memory) deliver better day-to-day performance for users at a higher price.
The report from Aju News states that Samsung Electronics’ MX Division could raise prices for the Galaxy S26 lineup and the Galaxy Z Fold/Flip 8 by up to 10%. Similarly, Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro models (Pro and Pro Max) could also face a price hike in fall 2026 due to increased manufacturing costs.
It is for these reasons that I don’t consider 2026 the right year for upgrading your smartphone. While the long-standing models in the market, like the iPhone 16, the baseline iPhone 17, the Pixel 9 or 10 series, or the Galaxy S25 series, might be available at a discounted price, almost all new models could be released at a heftier price tag.