Memory chip shortage could add up to £100 to your next iPhone
Component costs are soaring, with memory prices up more than 300% in a year, and analysts expect phones to get pricier while sales shrink.
For years, gadgets slowly got cheaper. That trend is now reversing, and the next iPhone could cost around £100 more because memory chips and other key parts are in short supply.
IDC's Francisco Jeronimo says component costs have jumped sharply, with memory alone up more than 300% compared with last year. He expects memory prices to keep rising well into 2027, even though the steepest spikes seem to be behind us.
IDC now forecasts the sharpest yearly drop in global smartphone sales on record: down almost 17% to just over one billion handsets. In short, people are buying fewer phones and paying noticeably more for the ones they do buy.
The squeeze shows up in the used market too. Uswitch says a refurbished iPhone 16 has stayed at roughly £503 all summer, about the same as before the iPhone 18 Pro launched, instead of dropping in price as older models normally do.
