Surging memory-chip prices force Chinese smartphone maker Meizu to abandon launch
Memory-chip prices could jump between 40 and 50 per cent in the first quarter after rising by the same level in the previous quarter
The global memory-chip crunch has forced a mainland Chinese smartphone manufacturer to pull the plug on the launch of a new handset, making it one of the first cancellations affecting the wider industry due to surging prices of the key component.
DreamSmart Group said that its Meizu smartphone brand had cancelled the release of Meizu 22 Air, a slim handset similar to Apple’s iPhone Air.
“The sharp rise in memory prices since the fourth quarter has not only impacted [production] costs, but also dealt a huge shock to our commercial plan for smartphones,” Wan Zhiqiang, the chief marketing officer at DreamSmart, said in a live-streamed event on Saturday.
The entire industry was downsizing its product portfolios amid a supply chain crunch, Wan said, adding that Meizu would focus its resources on products that the company truly needed.
Counterpoint Research said last week that memory-chip prices had jumped 40 to 50 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025. It added that prices could rise by another 40 to 50 per cent in this year’s first quarter and another 20 per cent in the second quarter.