Exclusive | China’s Xiaomi, Transsion slash 2026 smartphone shipments as memory crunch bites
Xiaomi cut its latest shipment forecast by between 10 and 70 million units, while Transsion lowered its target by 30 to 45 million units
Chinese smartphone makers are bearing the brunt of a global memory crunch, slashing their 2026 shipment targets by tens of millions of units, according to industry supply chain sources.
Beijing-based smartphone and electric vehicle giant Xiaomi cut its latest shipment forecast for the year by between 10 and 70 million units in its guidance for upstream suppliers, a source said. This follows a target of 180 million units the company had set in the fourth quarter of last year, the source added.
Transsion, a Shenzhen-based budget handset maker, lowered its annual shipment target by 30 to 45 million units, having initially forecast an output of about 115 million, the source said.
These targets will be adjusted depending on the market conditions, the source said, adding that “Transsion and Xiaomi have been hit the hardest [by the rising memory costs]”.
The potential cutback in smartphone shipments comes amid smartphone makers’ struggle with an unfolding “supercycle” in the global memory sector. The world’s top three suppliers – Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology – are shifting their capacity for artificial intelligence applications, resulting in a supply squeeze for consumer products.