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margins","mobile-phone-growth-flattening-as-chip-prices-pressure-margins","article/mobile-phone-growth-flattening-as-chip-prices-pressure-margins",{"_uid":557,"date":558,"tags":559,"editor":569,"content":579,"excerpt":688,"featured":51,"reporter":689,"component":700,"seo_title":553,"categories":701,"visibility":708,"data_vis_image":709,"featured_image":714,"seo_description":718,"side_panel_banner":663,"formattedDate":719,"formattedArticleDate":720},"146b83bb-5f79-414a-bdab-fc5fe18256a4","2026-09-04 00:00",[560,563,566],{"slug":561,"name":562},"apple","Apple",{"slug":564,"name":565},"samsung","Samsung",{"slug":567,"name":568},"data-visualisation","Data Visualisation",[570],{"slug":571,"name":572,"content":573},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":574,"image":575,"bio":577,"linkedin":578},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":576},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":580,"attrs":581,"content":582},"doc",{"backgroundColor":49},[583,595,603,611,621,629,653,664,672,680],{"type":584,"attrs":585,"content":586},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[587],{"text":588,"type":589,"marks":590},"Rising chip prices are forcing portables manufacturers to look at increasing retail prices, reducing specifications or absorbing some of the cost and accept lower margins. This is acting to increase the gap between the prices of premium and budget products.","text",[591],{"type":592,"attrs":593},"textStyle",{"color":594},"#000000",{"type":584,"attrs":596,"content":597},{"textAlign":49},[598],{"text":599,"type":589,"marks":600},"Premium brands such as Apple or Samsung are better positioned to pass through cost increases due to stronger brand power and higher average selling prices, whilst more budget brands are more exposed to demand reduction if they increase prices.",[601],{"type":592,"attrs":602},{"color":594},{"type":584,"attrs":604,"content":605},{"textAlign":49},[606],{"text":607,"type":589,"marks":608},"“While some stabilisation may occur, chip costs are expected to remain elevated in the near term, favouring companies with strong pricing power, efficient supply chains, and differentiated ecosystems,” said Benchmark battery analyst Anya Sidhu.",[609],{"type":592,"attrs":610},{"color":594},{"type":612,"attrs":613,"content":615},"heading",{"level":614,"textAlign":49},2,[616],{"text":617,"type":589,"marks":618},"Smartphone margins narrowing on chip costs",[619],{"type":592,"attrs":620},{"color":594},{"type":584,"attrs":622,"content":623},{"textAlign":49},[624],{"text":625,"type":589,"marks":626},"In the smartphone market, rising chip costs are squeezing margins, particularly in mid-range and budget segments where consumers are more price sensitive. Producers of premium devices have largely passed the higher costs onto consumers, often supported by new AI features. However, lower tier manufacturers are reducing specifications, delaying upgrades, or streamlining product lines, contributing to longer replacement cycles and slower growth.",[627],{"type":592,"attrs":628},{"color":594},{"type":584,"attrs":630,"content":631},{"textAlign":49},[632,637,648],{"text":633,"type":589,"marks":634},"Mobile phone unit sales grew 4.6% in 2025, though this growth is forecast to slow in 2026to just 0.5%, as assessed by ",[635],{"type":592,"attrs":636},{"color":594},{"text":638,"type":589,"marks":639},"Benchmark’s Portables Service",[640,646],{"type":641,"attrs":642},"link",{"href":643,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":644,"linktype":645},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/portables-service","_self","url",{"type":592,"attrs":647},{"color":594},{"text":649,"type":589,"marks":650},".",[651],{"type":592,"attrs":652},{"color":594},{"type":654,"attrs":655},"blok",{"id":656,"body":657},"589513a4-511c-4306-9269-9f51299a892a",[658],{"id":659,"_uid":660,"type":661,"component":662,"fixed_height":663,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":663,"fixed_height_tablet":663},"29819262","i-d07a6e58-9e1f-40d0-87cb-f1b2f2513b2f","visualisation","ContentFlourish","",{"type":612,"attrs":665,"content":666},{"level":614,"textAlign":49},[667],{"text":668,"type":589,"marks":669},"Laptop and tablet market to continue growth",[670],{"type":592,"attrs":671},{"color":594},{"type":584,"attrs":673,"content":674},{"textAlign":49},[675],{"text":676,"type":589,"marks":677},"For laptops, higher chip prices coincide with the transition to AI-capable PCs, which require more powerful and expensive processors. Business demand remains relatively stable, but consumer demand is more sensitive to price increases. Manufacturers are focusing on premium models with higher margins while relying on older chip technologies to maintain affordability in entry level devices.",[678],{"type":592,"attrs":679},{"color":594},{"type":584,"attrs":681,"content":682},{"textAlign":49},[683],{"text":684,"type":589,"marks":685},"The tablet market, already characterised by longer replacement cycles, is more vulnerable. Vendors are limiting hardware improvements and emphasising software and services to sustain value. Rising costs are also affecting bulk buyers such as schools and public sector organisations, reducing purchase volumes. Laptops and tablets are still expected to see modest growth in 2026, with unit sales increasing by 3.5%, slowing slightly from the 3.7% growth in 2025.",[686],{"type":592,"attrs":687},{"color":594},"Rising chip prices are forcing portables manufacturers to look at increasing retail prices, reducing specifications or absorbing some of the cost and accept lower margins. This is acting to increase the gap between the prices of premium and budget products.\n\nPremium brands such as Apple or Samsung are better positioned to pass through cost increases due to stronger brand power and higher average selling prices, whilst more budget brands are more exposed to demand reduction if they increase prices.\n\n“While some stabilisation may occur, chip costs are expected to remain elevated in the near term, favouring companies with strong pricing power, efficient supply chains, and differentiated ecosystems,” said Benchmark battery analyst Anya Sidhu.",[690],{"slug":691,"name":692,"content":693},"anya-sidhu","Anya Sidhu",{"job_title":694,"image":695,"bio":697,"linkedin":698,"markets_covered":699},"Analyst - Batteries ",{"filename":696},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/719x719/148f688814/anya-sidhu.jpeg","Anya is an analyst working in the Battery and Gigafactory team, covering capacity, supply and demand for lithium and sodium ion batteries. She has also begun working on the Portables report, building out our global view of unit sales and demand for each segment. Anya holds a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Leicester.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/anya-sidhu-622b60268/","Battery and Gigafactory ","article",[702,705],{"slug":703,"name":704},"portables","Portables",{"slug":706,"name":707},"batteries","Batteries","private",{"id":710,"alt":663,"name":663,"focus":663,"title":663,"source":663,"filename":711,"copyright":663,"fieldtype":712,"meta_data":713,"is_external_url":50},216423774020097,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1588x1014/6507c8de45/portables-demand-2x.png","asset",{},{"id":715,"alt":663,"name":663,"focus":663,"title":663,"source":663,"filename":716,"copyright":663,"fieldtype":712,"meta_data":717,"is_external_url":50},216422999196061,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5743x3834/78bfe62e19/mobile-phones.jpeg",{},"Rising chip prices are forcing portables manufacturers to look at increasing retail prices, reducing specifications or absorbing some of the cost and accept lower margins. This is acting to increase the gap between the prices of premium and budget product","Sep 04, 2026","4th September 2026",[],[],1788535158404]