Memory-Chip Crunch Hits Smartphone Demand Across China

Prices for electronic devices reliant on advanced memory chips, from smartphones to gaming consoles, have risen as the AI data-center buildout tightens supply and drives component costs higher. The resulting memory-chip crunch is now weighing on consumer demand, with Goldman’s latest note showing that the pressure is increasingly visible in China’s handheld-device market.Goldman analyst Allen Chang, who focuses on everything from smartphones to semiconductors, AI, EVs, and robotaxis, cited new data on Friday showing that China’s smartphone shipments fell 17% from a year earlier and 36% from May, to 17 million units in June.Second-quarter shipments totaled 69 million units, little changed from the previous quarter and a year earlier but above Goldman's 59 million estimate. Chang expects full-year 2026 shipments to decline 10%.June 5G shipments fell 12% year over year to 16 million units, representing 85% of the market."We expect 2026 shipments to decline at 10% YoY, given rising memory cost weighing on demand," Chang wrote in the report.Chang noted that the average number of cameras per handset declined to 2.9 this year, down from a 2022 peak of 3.8, while the share of cameras with resolutions of at least 20 megapixels increased to 66% of the total, up from 57% in 2025.Model pricing for various foldable smartphone brandsSmartphone model launch pipelineProfessional subscribers can read more about the memory chip market, data center buildouts, and smartphones at our new Marketdesk.ai portal.