OnePlus China president Li Jie has once again commented on the recent jump in memory costs, and his latest post makes it clear that brands across the phone industry are dealing with the same problem. According to Li, this latest round of component price increases has pushed smartphone pricing pressure sharply higher, with memory costs rising by more than 400 percent.
His main point is that this isn’t a one-brand issue. Li said no company can fully avoid the current increase, and that the biggest difference between brands is mostly timing and inventory rhythm rather than any real ability to escape higher costs. In other words, some companies may feel the impact sooner than others, but the underlying pressure is industry-wide.
Li also said the current trend still points upward, meaning overall prices are likely to keep climbing for a while. That lines up with earlier IT Home reporting on the broader storage market, which described the current cycle as a new boom period for memory suppliers. One report cited by the outlet said Samsung Electronics is expected to sell out essentially all of its memory chip output scheduled through next year.
To secure supply, customer companies are reportedly becoming more willing to sign long-term purchase agreements with Samsung, including some proposals that would extend out to 2030. That kind of behavior usually shows how tight buyers think the market could stay, especially when they’re trying to lock in volume before prices move even higher.
Li’s comments also came alongside a similar discussion from Honor executive Lin Lin, who said different phone makers are under different levels of pressure depending on their pricing strategy, margins, and market-share goals. Lin added that current storage price increases could remain elevated through the second half of 2027, and possibly even into 2028.
Taken together, the latest comments from OnePlus and other Chinese smartphone brands suggest the industry doesn’t expect this cost spike to fade quickly. For buyers, that could mean current phone prices may start to look less aggressive a few months from now if memory costs keep moving in the same direction.
