Realme’s global head of product marketing smartphone prices will rise sharply in 2026.
He attributes this to rising component costs due to the AI boom.
Fluctuating global memory prices and a strengthening US Dollar are increasing cost pressures on local assemblers.
With just days to go before the launch of its flagship GT 8 Pro, Realme’s global head of product marketing, Francis Wong, has warned consumers that prices of smartphones are about to increase sharply across the industry.
“If you are considering buying a new smartphone, buy it in 2025,” Wong said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Next year, price hikes will be a pan-industry move like never before.” His comments come at a time when smartphone manufacturers worldwide face surging component prices, especially in storage and memory hardware.
According to Wong, the major contributor to this impending price increase is the rapid rise in the cost of NAND Flash, DRAM, and SSD components that are integral to storage and memory in every smartphone. These components have seen sustained price rises due to tightening supply and rising competition for chips.
The AI boom has driven high-end memory demand to a new level. The same high-end memory used in smartphones is now being prioritised for AI data centres, servers, and high-bandwidth computing. Chipmakers have shifted capacity away from standard smartphone-grade DRAM and NAND towards enterprise-grade memory such as HBM (High Bandwidth Memory). This shift means that even mid-range and budget smartphones will be affected, not just flagships. As Wong put it, “This is a pan-industry issue, no brand can escape it.”
The situation has further been worsened because of continued trade tensions, realignments in supply chains, and currency fluctuations. With countries tightening up technology export rules and diversifying their manufacturing hubs, production costs have increased along with longer lead times.
Despite these challenges, Wong emphasises that Realme is doing its best to absorb as much of the cost increase as possible without passing it to customers right away. “We try our best not to transfer such costs to consumers and not impact our upcoming two new products in 2025,” he said. That includes the Realme GT 8 Pro, which will be unveiled in India in the coming weeks.
The Realme GT 8 Pro boasts high-end features such as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, up to a 200 MP periscope telephoto camera with co-engineering by Ricoh, and a 2K LTPO display with a refresh rate of 144Hz. The trends described by Wong may push its launch price higher than that of the predecessor Realme GT 7 Pro, which made its debut at Rs 59,999 in India. According to analysts, the Realme GT 8 Pro starting price could be in the region of Rs 65,000 – Rs 70,000. Compared with rival flagships such as the OnePlus 15 or the iQOO 15, the GT 8 Pro may undercut them slightly, but not by much as component costs rise for manufacturers.
Realme’s timing appears deliberate as the statement lands just before the GT 8 Pro launch, likely serving multiple purposes. It could be a way to set expectations for higher pricing, position Realme as a transparent, consumer-first brand, and subtly encourage early purchases before prices rise across the market. In doing so, Realme not only prepares buyers for what’s coming but also reinforces its image as a brand willing to address industry realities openly, even if the message conveniently aligns with its upcoming launch cycle.
Such a direct warning from a senior executive also hints at a shifting dynamic in the smartphone industry one where brands are beginning to manage consumer expectations as openly as they market new features. It suggests that transparency itself is becoming a strategy, not just a courtesy, and that future launches may focus as much on explaining prices as on justifying innovation.
