Smartphone shipments plummet as memory crisis pumps up prices

Smartphone sales plummeted by at least 20% in the third quarter after a memory shortage drove up component costs, according to industry estimates from IDC and Omdia. Memory prices have jumped around 350% over the past year and are continuing to climb, squeezing vendor profits and forcing companies to raise prices and reduce the number of low-cost devices in the market.

IDC predicts shipments will remain weak for the foreseeable future, with the worst yet to come, and expects a longer-lasting shift toward higher prices. Omdia forecasts a further 12% decline in global smartphone sales through 2026, with premium devices potentially showing more resilience as consumers become accustomed to higher prices.