Chinese smartphone maker expects memory market to stabilise after supply shortages pushed up device prices.
Xiaomi has reportedly increased its smartphone sales target for 2026, betting that the global memory market is beginning to stabilise after prolonged supply shortages drove up production costs and retail prices.
According to a report citing supply chain sources, the Chinese technology company has raised its annual smartphone shipment target from around 90 million units to 110 million units, reflecting growing confidence that memory and storage component prices will moderate in the coming months.
Most of the additional shipments are expected to come from Xiaomi’s entry-level smartphone portfolio, where competitive pricing remains a key factor in attracting consumers.
The revised target follows a difficult start to the year for the company. Xiaomi shipped 33.8 million smartphones in the first quarter of 2026, representing a 19.2% decline compared with the same period a year earlier.
Industry analysts have attributed much of the slowdown to soaring component costs, particularly memory and storage, which have forced smartphone manufacturers to increase prices, delay product launches or reduce production volumes.
According to the report, Xiaomi believes the memory market is approaching a turning point, with prices expected to stabilise as supply conditions improve.
A person familiar with the matter said the company had revised its shipment forecast after concluding that the current pricing pressure on memory chips is likely to ease.
Earlier this year, Xiaomi President Lu Weibing highlighted the scale of the cost increases facing smartphone manufacturers.
Speaking in April, Lu said Xiaomi was paying approximately CNY1,500 more for a package containing 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage than it had paid during the first quarter of 2025.
The sharp rise in memory costs has affected the broader smartphone industry, with manufacturers facing higher production expenses and consumers paying more for new devices.
Some smartphone makers have also scaled back product launches or limited availability of certain models as component shortages disrupted supply chains.
If memory prices continue to stabilise, manufacturers could benefit from lower production costs, potentially easing pressure on smartphone prices and improving demand across global markets.
For Xiaomi, the anticipated normalisation of the memory market could support its ambitious shipment target while strengthening its position in the highly competitive entry-level smartphone segment.