Consumers planning to buy the upcoming OnePlus 15, Realme GT 8 Pro, or iQOO 15 may have to shell out more this year as smartphone prices inch upward across the industry.
The festive shopping season may have just ended, but smartphone prices are already on the rise in India. Multiple brands, including vivo, OPPO, and Xiaomi, have begun revising the prices of select models, while upcoming premium phones are expected to launch at higher price points than last year.
Industry data suggests that average handset prices could rise by ₹500 to ₹2,000 on existing models, while new flagships debuting later this month and early next year could be costlier by ₹6,000 or more.
Why Prices Are Going Up
The main reason behind the new price surge is a sharp increase in memory and component costs. Global supply constraints, especially in DRAM and NAND storage chips used in smartphones, are pushing up input costs.
Chipmakers have been reallocating production lines toward high-bandwidth memory (HBM) to meet growing demand from AI servers, leaving a tighter supply for standard smartphone memory. As a result, prices of LPDDR5 and UFS storage components have risen significantly since August 2025.
Combined with a weaker rupee and supply chain readjustments in China and Southeast Asia, the overall cost of manufacturing smartphones has increased, forcing brands to pass some of the burden to consumers.
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Price Revisions Already Underway
Early retail checks show that Vivo and Oppo have already increased prices for a few mid-range models in offline stores. Some budget handsets that were discounted during Diwali have returned to their original list prices or higher.
Xiaomi and Samsung, meanwhile, have pulled back several of their festival offers, signaling a broader trend of post-festive recalibration rather than ongoing discounts.
Industry trackers expect Realme and OnePlus to adjust prices next, particularly ahead of their flagship launches in November, December, and early 2026.
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Premium Flagships Will Feel It First
Buyers waiting for the OnePlus 15, Realme GT 8 Pro, and iQOO 15 should be ready for sticker shock. Each of these next-generation devices is likely to launch at a higher base price than its predecessor.
The OnePlus 15 and Realme GT 8 Pro, both expected to feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, are anticipated to start around ₹5,000 to ₹7,000 higher than last year’s models. Similarly, iQOO’s upcoming flagship, with its upgraded display and enhanced cooling system, is also tipped to cross the ₹60,000 mark for the top-end variant.
This rise isn’t just about inflation. It reflects a broader industry pivot toward premiumization, where brands are focusing on higher-end configurations and design upgrades to maintain profitability amid higher component costs.
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Memory Inflation and the AI Ripple Effect
Ironically, the global AI boom, which is driving up demand for advanced memory chips, is now trickling down to the consumer smartphone market. With AI-powered features becoming a key selling point in 2025, brands are investing in more powerful on-device memory, NPU units, and AI-ready camera systems.
That hardware shift is increasing bill-of-materials costs, which are unlikely to stabilize before mid-2026.
What It Means for Consumers
For now, price adjustments remain moderate, but it is clear that smartphones in 2026 will be more expensive than in 2025, especially in the upper mid-range and premium tiers.
Consumers looking to upgrade should expect smaller discounts in upcoming online sales, while those waiting for the next wave of Android flagships may need to rethink their budget brackets.
Budget and midrange devices are also likely to see price normalization, meaning the entry point for a “good” 5G smartphone in India could soon shift from ₹10,000 to ₹12,000.
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