Shipments of smartphones priced below $100 have dramatically decreased, falling nearly 60% in the second quarter of 2026 compared to the previous year, due to rising memory costs driven by demand from AI applications.

US · 2026-09-11

1. Step 1 · The triggersurging AI application demand in China diverts memory supply toward high-margin AI hardware
2. Step 2 · Knock-onmemory component prices rise globally, raising the bill-of-materials cost for entry-level smartphones
3. Step 3 · Knock-onChinese vendors like Xiaomi and Oppo cut shipments of sub-$100 smartphones as margins vanish
4. Step 4 · Reaches youUS SMEs seeking affordable handsets face higher prices and reduced availability, impacting device procurement costs

The trigger is reported by the source below. The steps that follow are Branch²’s traced reasoning — how the shock could reach a business like yours, not a prediction.

Source: CNBC

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