Realme’s Head of Product Marketing predicts potential normalization of elevated chip and storage costs by H2 2027

Recently, we have seen various smartphone brands increasing the prices of selected mid-range devices, while there have also been ongoing semiconductor price surges in the industry. Related to this price hike concern, Realme’s Head of Product Marketing, Francis Wong, has shared a few details via the X platform.

It is revealed that the chip & storage costs have increased 80%-90% year-over-year. resulting in the increase of mid-range device bill of material (BOM) by over 30%. Due to this, the 12/512GB combo alone now costs over Rs 4,600+ more than last year.

According to Francis, some retailers have now started hoarding phone stocks, hoping to sell when prices rise further. Further in the comment section, he has predicted that the elevated chip and storage costs may normalise by the second half of 2027.

Last month, the International Data Corporation (IDC) also predicted that the worldwide shipments may decline 12.9% year-on-year in 2026 due to the memory shortage crisis. Though the report also mentioned that the memory prices could stabilise by mid-2027, they are unlikely to return to the previous level.

Let’s see how these elevated prices will further affect the market and consumers’ pockets. Stay tuned with The Tech Outlook for the latest tech updates.