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, stating it will adjust the suggested retail prices of some products starting from 10:00 on March 18, 2026. Both companies cited rising global semiconductor and memory costs as the reason.
Since the beginning of the year, brands including Samsung, Xiaomi, Honor, Apple, Dell, and HP have all announced price increases to varying degrees, affecting products such as phones and computers.
This round of price hikes began with soaring memory chip prices driven by AI demand, subsequently impacting the entire industry chain. Prices have now been passed on to the end-user level, with major manufacturers successively raising prices or reducing product specifications. From an industry perspective, a temporary slowdown in consumer electronics sales is difficult to avoid, 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 just phones and computers, but also products that heavily use semiconductors, such as home appliances and automobiles, may face upward price pressure.
Structural Imbalances This round of semiconductor price increases started with memory and gradually spread to areas including power devices, wafer foundry, and packaging and testing. Regarding specific companies, since the start of the year, numerous A-share companies have announced price increases of at least 10%, with some hikes reaching up to 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. could raise quotes as soon as April, with increases potentially up to 10% or even more.
A price adjustment notice from Vanguard International Semiconductor indicated that starting in 2025, it significantly increased capacity investment in response to client demand, but prices for semiconductor equipment procurement, raw materials, energy, precious metals, and other costs have been rising continuously. The company plans to adjust its foundry prices starting April 2026, though the notice did not specify the magnitude of the increase.
Within the A-share market, price increases by semiconductor companies have become a key focus. The topic has been repeatedly raised during recent institutional research meetings.
During a recent investor call regarding its 2026 business outlook, the Chairman and General Manager of a major semiconductor firm revealed that the company will implement a new pricing system starting in 2026.
Addressing the industry-wide trend of price increases, the executive stated that this upturn cycle is primarily driven by the resonance of three factors: explosive growth in new demand such as AI servers, structural tightness in global 8-inch wafer capacity, and widespread increases in upstream raw material costs. This industry upswing coincides with the company's own operational improvement cycle, potentially accelerating its path to profitability.
A memory chip design firm discussed the price increase of SLC NAND during a recent institutional research session. The company explained that from the supply side, capacity shifts by major overseas manufacturers towards high-density 3D NAND have led to a contraction in supply for mature processes like SLC NAND, creating a structural opportunity for domestic memory manufacturers. On the demand side, factors include iterative upgrades in networking equipment, the intelligence of security surveillance, the rapid expansion of the IoT ecosystem, and the substitution of SLC NAND Flash for NOR Flash in code storage applications within segments like wearable devices.
The term "structural" has been frequently mentioned in analyses of this price hike cycle. In reality, imbalances exist in both capacity and demand, and the combination of these factors has intensified the current price increases. However, market sentiment regarding future industry prospects remains largely optimistic.
As a chip company, one memory firm is undoubtedly a beneficiary of this price surge. During an institutional research meeting in late January, company executives predicted that memory product prices are expected to continue rising in the first and second quarters of 2026.
A leading wafer foundry anticipates that there may still be some room for price increases in 2026, particularly for 12-inch wafers. The supply-demand balance for 8-inch wafers is more stable than for 12-inch; even if price increases are desired for 8-inch, the room for hikes is likely limited. Overall, the company maintains a cautiously optimistic outlook on its average selling price.
Terminal Price Hikes Likely to Spread A tiny chip in a factory might seem distant from everyday life. In reality, however, they are ubiquitous, present in devices from small items like phones and headphones to large appliances like air conditioners, televisions, and new energy vehicles—virtually no electrical appliance can function without them.
Early in this price hike cycle, industry insiders predicted potential pressure on the cost side of downstream consumer electronics, which could eventually affect terminal shipments. This prediction has now become reality.
On March 16, vivo announced on its official website that, due to the ongoing significant rise in global semiconductor and memory costs, and after careful assessment, the company will adjust the suggested retail prices of some products starting from 10:00 on March 18, 2026. Specific models and prices will be as displayed on the product details pages of official channels.
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 has also seen a quiet price increase. The starting price of the Honor Magic V6 is 8,999 yuan (12GB+256GB), the same as the previous generation Magic V5. However, the prices for the two larger memory configurations, 16GB+512GB and 16GB+1TB, have increased by 1,000 yuan compared to the previous generation.
Honor's CEO stated that memory price increases are an industry-wide issue, creating significant pressure across the sector—a cyclical challenge expected to last 2-3 years.
Smartphones may be just the starting point of this price surge. Analysts are concerned that home appliances and automobiles will also be affected by these rising costs, leading to higher prices for consumers.
Taking televisions as an example, a survey by TrendForce in 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 players with fewer resources are likely to face greater challenges.
Furthermore, with the ongoing development of electric vehicle technology, the cost proportion of automotive chips is increasingly significant. A leading new energy vehicle manufacturer previously pointed out that in 2019, chip costs accounted for 4% of the total cost of an electric vehicle, but by 2023, this had risen to over 20%. As battery prices decline, chips may become the most expensive component in 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 2026, prices are unlikely to fall back to 2025 levels. Players across the chain, from chip suppliers to terminal brands and channels, need to prepare for this long-term structural adjustment.
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