Global Smartphone Shipments Plummet 22% as AI Boom Drives Memory Costs Through the Roof

Global smartphone shipments crashed 22% in the third quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year, marking the steepest quarterly decline ever recorded and signaling a historic disruption in the mobile device market. The catastrophic drop, which saw shipments fall to 255.3 million units, stems from a massive surge in memory chip costs—DRAM and NAND expenses have skyrocketed over 300% year-over-year—driven relentlessly by artificial intelligence data centers that now command top priority for the world's memory chip supply.