Xiaomi has secured its 2026 memory chip supply to avoid shortages, citing AI-driven HBM demand. Expect higher smartphone prices as the brand pivots premium.
© A. Krivonosov
Xiaomi has moved early to shield itself from potential component shortages, signing a major deal that guarantees its supply of memory chips for the whole of 2026, President Lu Weibing said. He did not disclose the supplier. Industry watchers suggest it could be Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron, Kioxia, Western Digital, or China’s YMTC and CMXT. The step reads as a pragmatic hedge in an unpredictable market.
According to the executive, Xiaomi paid a high price for guaranteed access to memory, and that cost will inevitably show up in retail smartphone prices. The company plans to soften the impact by pushing further into the premium segment, where buyers tend to be more accepting of higher component costs. In other words, the strategy prioritizes stability even if it nudges average price tags upward.
Lu Weibing characterized the current surge in memory prices as a prolonged cycle. He noted that, unlike previous market swings, today’s rise is driven by soaring demand for HBM amid the AI boom, which means the cost of NAND and DRAM will keep heading higher. Against that backdrop, locking in supply early looks less like caution and more like necessity.