OPPO and OnePlus announce price hikes for existing smartphones due to global memory shortage

Chinese smartphone manufacturer OPPO and its subsidiary OnePlus have announced that they will raise the prices of some of their existing smartphones from March 16, 2026. This is likely in response to a record memory shortage caused by increased demand for AI and the resulting price hikes.

OnePlus and Oppo smartphones are getting price hikes next week
https://9to5google.com/2026/03/10/oneplus-oppo-price-hikes-market-conditions/

Oppo and OnePlus to jointly hike smartphone prices starting March 16
https://www.gizmochina.com/2026/03/10/oppo-and-oneplus-to-jointly-hike-smartphone-prices-starting-march-16/

Two major phone makers announce price hikes starting next week - PhoneArena
https://www.phonearena.com/news/two-major-phone-makers-announce-price-hikes-starting-next-week_id178812

In a notice on its official Chinese online store, OPPO announced that it would be raising the prices of some of its smartphones starting March 16. In the notice, OPPO explained that the increase was due to rising component prices, saying, 'In response to rising prices of several key mobile phone components, including high-speed storage hardware, after careful consideration, we have made the following decision: Starting at midnight on March 16, 2026, OPPO will adjust the prices of some already-released products to continue to ensure excellent product quality and user experience.'

The price hike affects the relatively inexpensive A and K series , as well as models from OnePlus, a subsidiary of the manufacturer. The relatively expensive Find and Reno series , as well as the OPPO Pad series of tablets, are not affected.

The price hikes for OPPO and OnePlus smartphones are likely due to a worsening global memory supply shortage. The Financial Times points out that the boom in AI data center construction is driving up demand for high-bandwidth memory chips, causing memory manufacturers to deprioritize consumer memory. Some analysts predict that the shortage of consumer memory will drive up electronics prices by 10 to 20 percent in 2026.

Construction of AI data centers could disrupt chip supply, causing smartphone and PC prices to rise by up to 20% by 2026 - GIGAZINE

Research firm IDC predicts that the memory shortage will cause smartphone shipments to fall 12.9% year-on-year to 1.12 billion units in 2026.

Global smartphone shipments are expected to fall 13% in 2026 due to memory shortage crisis, the biggest drop ever - GIGAZINE

Xiaomi has already hinted at raising smartphone prices , forcing smartphone manufacturers to pass on rising component prices to consumers.

Technology media PhoneArena wrote, 'There are two clear paths here: one where smartphone prices rise (as with almost everything these days), and the other where the quality of hardware you get for the same money declines. But maybe there's a third, hidden path: where certain world leaders stop messing around and enjoy decades of trade and growth instead of war. But don't get your hopes up too much about that third option.'