Xiaomi just published its Q3 2025 financial report on how its different business operations performed in the past three months. While the major focus was towards profit and revenue growth, the company also shared a concerning forecast for the future – a rise in smartphone prices. According to Xiaomi President Lu Weibing, phones are set to become more pricier in 2026.
The smartphone price hike in 2026 is real
As per a Reuters report, Lu Weibing, President at Xiaomi, mentioned that smartphone launches in 2026 will see a significant price hike due to the rise in component costs. He further added that to offset costs, Xiaomi will have to address the Bill of Materials (BoM) pressure via retail price hikes.
This comes amidst a deepening memory chip shortage globally, due to the surge in demand for AI data centres. With the adoption of AI happening at a blazing fast pace, there has been a sudden need to have proper server capacity to manage the AI load. Hence, most of the available chip stock has already been booked by AI vendors, leaving very little behind for smartphone manufacturers.
Recently, Samsung memory chip pricing was also revised to now cost up to 60% more, to meet the growing demand. Moreover, we have already witnessed this ripple effect across flagship launches in India recently.
From the OnePlus 15 to the Oppo Find X9 series, every smartphone now costs at least Rs 10,000 more than the previous generation. Even upcoming smartphones like the iQOO 15 and the Vivo X300 series are also said to see a huge price bump in India.
As for Xiaomi, we are yet to know when the Xiaomi 17, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max will launch in India. Early reports hint at an early 2026 launch window. But one can expect to see these phones being quite pricey in the country as well.
That said, for those looking to purchase a new smartphone in 2026 and beyond, be prepared to pay extra to own the latest piece of hardware. Moreover, this global chip crisis is also said to leave its mark on the PC and peripherals industry.
