Recently, mobile phone brands such as OPPO and Vivo have announced price increases for some products, ushering in a wave of price hikes across the entire industry. After March 16th, the prices of OPPO A-series, K-series, and OnePlus in the store increased by 200 to 500 yuan. ”At an OPPO store in Xicheng District, Beijing, a staff member told reporters that the price adjustment products are mostly models that have already been released and focus on increasing sales volume. Taking OPPO K13 Turbo as an example, the starting price now is 2299 yuan, an increase of 500 yuan compared to before. The reporter learned that other major mobile phone brands have not announced price adjustments yet, but store staff have reported that some high-capacity models are difficult to restock. Some store clerks also explained that according to tradition, new models will be priced lower after a period of time, while many phones launched in the second half of last year have not been priced lower, which can be considered as a disguised price increase. The most commonly mentioned reason for the price increase is the continuous rise in storage chip prices. The Price Monitoring Center of the National Development and Reform Commission recently issued a statement stating that from September 2025 to present, the global memory market gap has widened due to factors such as explosive growth in demand and a cliff like shortage of production capacity. According to data from the center, as of January this year, the prices of DRAM and NAND flash memory, the two main products of storage chips, have both reached their highest levels since 2016. Taking mainstream models as an example, the average contract price for DRAM (DDR4 8Gb 1G * 8) in January was $11.5, an increase of about 83% compared to September last year; The average contract price for NAND flash memory (128Gb 16G * 8 MLC) is $9.5, which is nearly 1.5 times higher than September last year. The fundamental reason for this super cycle is the unexpected iterative upgrade of AI big model technology, which has brought about massive demands for data storage, processing, and so on. ”Wei Gang, Sales Director of Hefei Ruike Microelectronics Co., Ltd., introduced that top storage manufacturers such as Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron, etc. are tilting their production capacity towards higher profit high bandwidth memory (HBM) and other products, resulting in a continuous tight supply of DRAM and NAND flash memory required in the consumer electronics field such as mobile phones. It is reported that the DRAM and NAND inventories of Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have reached historical lows, with an average inventory of only 3 to 5 weeks, in an extremely scarce state. The structural crowding out of production capacity is directly reflected in the procurement cost of smartphone storage chips. A research report shows that the proportion of storage chips in the material cost of smartphones has increased from 10% to 15% to 30% to 40%. For mid to low end models with already thin profits, this cost structure imbalance has led to some thousand yuan machine products falling into the negative gross profit range. The cost pressure is transmitted layer by layer, and mobile phone manufacturers do not only have the option of raising prices. Some mobile phone brands have responded by adjusting their product strategies, such as reducing storage capacity or the number of cameras in some models. ”Li Yuanchen, a technology industry analyst at Hua'an Securities Research Institute, used high-end mobile phones as an example to introduce that while some new models have increased their prices by 1000 to 2000 yuan compared to the previous generation, they have also upgraded their processors, screens, and other configurations, adopting a 'upgrade configuration+significant price increase' strategy to cover the rising storage and processor costs. The reporter found that some manufacturers are accelerating the construction of their ecosystem and increasing the added value of their products; Some focus on increasing research and development in areas such as foldable screens and imaging, seeking breakthroughs through differentiated competition; Some will alleviate pressure by optimizing supply chain management, reducing internal costs, and increasing efficiency. When will this cycle last? Industry insiders analyze that structural factors leading to storage shortages still exist. With the expansion of storage capacity and the participation of some domestic small and medium-sized storage suppliers, the tight supply situation may ease to some extent, but this is not enough to fundamentally change the trend. The long production cycle of storage chips is another influencing factor. Hu Yang, an analyst at Southwest Securities Research Institute, said that the complete cycle of building a new storage wafer fab takes 1 and a half to 2 years. This means that even if large-scale investment begins now, the new production capacity will not be significantly released until the end of 2027, and considering the complexity of the process and supply bottlenecks such as clean rooms, expansion is difficult. International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that this storage structural shortage will continue to ferment in 2026 and may continue into 2027. Although the price increase may slow down in the second half of the year, it is estimated that it will be difficult to fall back to the level of 2025. From chip suppliers to terminal brands and channels, all need to be prepared for this long-term structural adjustment. ”Li Yuanchen said. Industry insiders also remind consumers to view their purchasing needs rationally and not blindly follow the trend of changing machines. For those who urgently need to replace their aircraft, priority should be given to selecting models with good reputation and configurations that can meet daily use, and making good use of policies such as "national subsidies". In addition, you can also consider purchasing a reliable second-hand phone or replacing the battery of an old phone to continue using it. (New Society)