According to the latest memory industry research from TrendForce, global smartphone brands are expected to face pressure from high NAND Flash prices in 2026. However, factors such as the phasing out of low-capacity specifications due to upgrades in manufacturer processes and the demand for AI in flagship models from premium brands are projected to drive a 4.8% year-on-year increase in the average smartphone storage capacity for the year, defying earlier expectations.
Initially, the market anticipated that smartphone brands, grappling with NAND Flash price pressures, would widely reduce specifications to protect profit margins, leading to negative growth in average storage capacity by 2026. However, premium brands like Apple and Huawei are enhancing AI capabilities with offerings such as Apple Intelligence 2.0 and Huawei's new Harmony OS AI. These edge AI models require 40–60 GB of pre-allocated system partition space for operational caching. As a result, Apple has raised the base storage for the entire iPhone 17 series from 128 GB to 256 GB to provide sufficient user space, while Huawei is promoting the widespread adoption of 512 GB models in its Mate 80 series to meet demands for offline multimodal interaction.
Additionally, upgrades in NAND Flash manufacturing processes have reduced the supply of low-capacity products, making lower-end memory chips harder to source for supply chains. This has led to a passive increase in storage capacity within the smartphone market. Some brands, considering persistently high NAND Flash prices, have opted to discontinue or reduce production of low-capacity models with weaker margins, shifting resources instead to mid- to high-end specifications like 128 GB and 256 GB, further elevating the average capacity.
TrendForce notes that with the iPhone 17 series raising its minimum specification to 256 GB, the growth in average storage capacity for iPhones in 2026 will be significantly higher than that for Android models. Premium brands, which are more resilient to memory price increases, are boosting storage to drive up device prices or enhance AI and other advanced experiences. Meanwhile, manufacturers focusing on the mid- to low-end market are substantially cutting the shipment proportion of high-margin but high-cost models, repositioning high-capacity specifications from primary offerings to optional features to safeguard profitability.
Looking ahead, as AI application ecosystems mature, 128 GB models may exit the mainstream Android segment by the end of 2026, with 256 GB specifications expected to take their place.
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