Chinese Phonemakers Raise Prices by Up to 1,000 Yuan as Memory Costs Surge

Chinese smartphone makers Huawei, Xiaomi and Honor raised prices across a range of models on Tuesday, with some increases reaching 1,000 yuan (US$140), Jiemian News reported.

Huawei increased prices across its Mate 80 lineup. The entry-level Mate 80 rose by 800 yuan, or more than 17 percent, from 4,699 yuan to 5,499 yuan. Some Mate 80 Pro and Pro Max models increased by 1,000 yuan.

Xiaomi also raised prices for models in its Xiaomi 17, REDMI K90 and REDMI Turbo 5 Max ranges. The Xiaomi 17 now starts at 5,099 yuan, up 300 yuan, while the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max starts at 6,999 yuan, an increase of 500 yuan.

Honor adjusted prices for its Power2 and Magic8 models, with increases ranging from 300 yuan to 600 yuan.

Customer-service representatives for Huawei and Xiaomi attributed the changes to rising costs for key materials and core components, according to Jiemian News. Honor said it had adjusted prices and promotions after reviewing market conditions.

The changes mark the latest round of price increases in China's smartphone industry this year. OPPO and Vivo raised prices for some models earlier in 2026 as manufacturers came under growing pressure from higher component costs.

Apple has also increased hardware prices. In June, it raised prices across its Mac and iPad lineups worldwide, citing a shortage of memory chips. The following month, Apple increased Japanese prices for iPhones, Apple Watches and AirPods.

The 2-terabyte iPhone 17 Pro Max recorded the largest increase, rising by 25,000 yen to 354,800 yen. The Japanese price adjustments were also widely attributed to the yen's depreciation against the US dollar.

The broader cost pressure has been driven largely by surging demand for artificial-intelligence servers, which has tightened supplies of the DRAM and NAND flash memory used in smartphones.

Major memory manufacturers, including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron, have shifted more advanced production capacity toward the high-bandwidth memory used in AI systems, squeezing supplies available for consumer electronics.

Huawei consumer business chief Richard Yu warned in August that smartphone prices could rise broadly because manufacturers risked selling devices at a loss if they maintained previous prices.

Xiaomi President Lu Weibing has also said elevated memory costs could push some Chinese flagship smartphones above 10,000 yuan.

China's smartphone shipments fell 4.3 percent year on year to about 66 million units in the second quarter of 2026, marking a fifth consecutive quarterly decline, according to research firm IDC. Shipments in the first half dropped 4.2 percent to about 134 million units.