The wave of semiconductor price increases continues to spread, with ordinary consumers ultimately bearing the cost. Last week, smartphone brand OPPO announced price adjustments; this week, vivo followed suit, declaring that from 10:00 AM on March 18, 2026, it will adjust the suggested retail prices of some products. Both companies attributed the price hikes to rising global semiconductor and memory costs. Since the beginning of this year, brands including Samsung, Xiaomi, Honor, Apple, Dell, and HP have all announced price increases of varying degrees, affecting products such as smartphones and computers. This round of price increases began with the surge in memory chip prices driven by AI demand, subsequently impacting the entire industry chain. Prices have now been passed on to the end products, with major manufacturers successively raising prices or reducing product configurations. From an industry perspective, a temporary slowdown in consumer electronics sales is likely unavoidable, and industry resources and pricing power may further concentrate towards leading brands with scale and supply chain advantages. Furthermore, as semiconductor products see widespread price increases, not only smartphones and computers but also products that heavily use semiconductors, such as home appliances and vehicles, may face upward price pressure.
Structural imbalances are noted. According to statistics, this round of semiconductor price hikes started with memory and gradually spread to multiple segments including power devices, wafer foundry, and packaging and testing. Regarding specific companies, since the start of the year, A-share listed firms such as Halo Microelectronics Co.,Ltd. (688173.SH), Jiangsu Jiejie Microelectronics Co.,Ltd. (300623.SZ), Hangzhou Silan Microelectronics Co.,Ltd. (600460.SH), Smartsens Technology(Shanghai)Co.,Ltd. (688213.SH), Wuxi Nce Power Co.,Ltd. (605111.SH), China Micro Semicon(Shenzhen) Limited (688380.SH), Shenzhen Kiwi Instruments Co.,Ltd. (688045.SH), Hunan Goke Microelectronics Co.,Ltd. (300672.SZ), Maxic Technology, Inc. (688458.SH), Shenzhen Injoinic Technology Co.,Ltd. (688209.SH), and China Resources Microelectronics Limited (688396.SH) have all announced price increases, with hikes ranging from at least 10% to as high as 80%. Recently, news of further price increases from major manufacturers has emerged. It is reported that mature-process wafer foundries such as UMC, Vanguard International Semiconductor, and Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. may raise quotes as early as April, with increases potentially reaching 10% or more. A price adjustment notice from Vanguard indicated that, starting in 2025, it significantly increased capacity investment in response to customer demand, but prices for semiconductor equipment procurement, raw materials, energy, precious metals, and other costs such as labor and transportation have continued to climb. The company plans to adjust its foundry prices starting in April 2026, although the notice did not disclose the specific magnitude of the increase.
Within the A-share market, the price hike situation among semiconductor companies has become a focal point of attention. The topic of price increases has been repeatedly raised during multiple recent institutional research meetings. Recently, an investor conference call regarding the 2026 operational outlook of a major integrated company was held. The company's Chairman and General Manager Zhao Qi revealed that, regarding foundry prices—a key concern for investors—the company would implement a new pricing system starting in 2026. Facing the industry-wide wave of price increases, Zhao Qi stated that this upturn cycle is primarily driven by the resonance of three forces: the explosive growth of new demand from AI servers, structural tightness in global 8-inch wafer capacity, and the broad rise in upstream raw material costs. This industry upturn coincides with the company's own cycle of operational improvement, potentially accelerating its path to profitability.
Memory chip design company Dosilicon Co.,Ltd. (688110.SH) recently discussed the price increase of SLC NAND during an institutional research session. The company explained that from the supply side, major overseas manufacturers are shifting their capacity structure towards high-density 3D NAND, leading to a contraction in supply for mature processes like SLC NAND. This adjustment presents a structural opportunity for domestic memory manufacturers. On the demand side, factors include iterative upgrades in networking equipment, the intelligentization of security surveillance, and the accelerated expansion of the Internet of Things ecosystem. Furthermore, in niche segments like smart wearable devices, SLC NAND Flash has already begun replacing NOR Flash in code storage applications. The term "structural" has been frequently mentioned in analyses of this price hike cycle. In reality, whether in terms of capacity or demand, structural imbalances exist, and the superposition of these factors has intensified the current round of price increases. However, regarding future industry sentiment expectations, market optimism is relatively consistent.
As a chip company,必然是这轮涨价的受益者之一。In a late-January institutional research session, company executives forecasted the memory industry's outlook for 2026: "Memory product prices are expected to continue rising in the first and second quarters of 2026." Leading wafer foundry Hua Hong Company anticipates that "there may still be some room for price increases in 2026, especially for 12-inch wafers. The supply-demand balance for 8-inch wafers is more stable than for 12-inch; even if we wish to raise 8-inch prices, the room may be limited. Overall, however, we maintain a cautiously optimistic view on the average selling price."
The spread of end-product price increases is a concern. A tiny chip in a factory might seem distant from daily life, but it is, in fact, ubiquitous. From small items like smartphones and headphones to large appliances like air conditioners, televisions, and new energy vehicles, almost no electronic device can function without it. When the price hike wave began, industry insiders predicted potential pressure on the cost side of downstream consumer electronics, which would eventually affect end-product shipments. This prediction has now become reality. On March 16, vivo announced on its official website that, due to the continuous significant rise in global semiconductor and memory costs, and after careful evaluation, the company would adjust the suggested retail prices of some products starting from 10:00 AM on March 18, 2026. Specific models and prices will be as displayed on the official channel product detail pages. Similarly, on the morning of March 10, OPPO issued an announcement stating it would raise prices for some already-released products starting March 16. The affected products include OPPO's A series, K series, and OnePlus models. The Honor Magic V6 is also quietly seeing price increases. The starting price of the Honor Magic V6 is 8,999 yuan (for the 12GB+256GB model), the same as the previous generation Magic V5, but the prices for the two larger memory versions (16GB+512GB and 16GB+1TB) have increased by 1,000 yuan compared to the previous generation. Honor CEO Li Jian stated that memory price increases are an industry-wide issue, creating significant pressure across the sector—a cyclical difficulty expected to last 2-3 years.
Smartphones may be just the starting point of this price hike wave. Analysts worry that home appliances and vehicles will also be affected by these rising costs, leading to higher prices. Taking televisions as an example, a TrendForce survey from late January showed that before this memory price surge, DRAM accounted for only 2.5%-3% of a TV's Bill of Materials cost. After recent price adjustments, this proportion has rapidly climbed to 6%-7%, putting pressure on brand profitability. As memory prices impact production momentum and profit margins, smaller-scale operators with fewer resources will be hit harder. Additionally, with the ongoing development of electric vehicle technology, the proportion of chip costs in vehicles is increasing. A leading new energy vehicle manufacturer previously pointed out that chip costs accounted for 4% of the total cost of an electric vehicle in 2019, but this had risen to over 20% by 2023. As automotive battery prices decline, chips may become the most expensive component of electric vehicles. IDC indicates that the structural shortage of memory, triggered by competition for capacity between AI infrastructure and consumer electronics, is expected to persist throughout 2026 and potentially extend into 2027. Although the pace of price increases may slow in the second half of the year, prices are unlikely to fall back to 2025 levels. All parties, from chip suppliers to end brands and channels, need to prepare for this long-term structural adjustment.
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