Every year it’s the same old story — smartphones are boring. But overall, the product category as a whole is still seeing growth, with Samsung, Apple, and other international brands selling hundreds of millions of phones each year.
So while the designs might not be as alluring or as exciting as before, people are always looking to buy something new. However, it looks like market research company Counterpoint is offering a glimpse of what to expect in 2026, stating that smartphone shipments will actually see a decrease in the new year, citing the rising cost of components.
The worst is yet to come
Although prices for phones and tablets have remained steady, the consumer market has already been hit, with memory products seeing a sharp increase over the past few months. In fact, it’s getting to the point where people are really starting to hold off making purchases, trying to wait out the rising cost.
We explored the idea that prices for phones will be going up one way or another in 2026, and this looks especially likely with the way DRAM and NAND prices keep going up. According to Counterpoint, there’s also a real possibility that prices for memory could rise even higher next year.
Less innovations
As far as what that means, it could result in fewer phones being available, along with less variety. The report points out that Apple and Samsung will be in better positions to weather out this storm, but who knows how long it will realistically take to recover. Brands that cannot do this will be forced to make clever cuts elsewhere.
Whether that’s through build quality, sacrificing other components, or maybe just making its more expensive products more alluring and pushing consumers to go for higher end models. The interesting part is that we saw Apple and Samsung both experiment with thin phones this year, which weren’t that popular.
There could be a good chance that these brands don’t do all that much with these new additions, or maybe even completely abandon them? Of course, we’ll just have to wait and see. Samsung has had a pretty great year, introducing fantastic products across the board. There are also rumors that Apple is set to release a foldable in 2026, and we’re still waiting for something new from OnePlus.
Plus, newcomers like Nothing will have to make some hard decisions, which can be tough when starting to just gain traction. It’s clear that 2026 is going to be a difficult year for all. So let’s hope for the best.
