TrendForce’s latest figures reveal that global smartphone production reached around 284 million units in the first quarter of 2026, marking a 1.7% YoY decline. Despite a sharp rise in memory prices since the second half of 2025, the effect on production was minimal because brands still held inventories of cheaper memory components. Additionally, consumer expectations of higher prices in the future have helped sustain short-term demand, cushioning the impact of rising memory costs on production during the quarter.
I’ll keep buying used ones too. Buying “cutting edge” models is just so stupid in 2026.
My fairphone was 5 years old when I got it so if I use it for 5 more, getting it new could make sense if I then use it for 10 years. So I might look at getting a new fair phone when this is no longer usable.
But then even a new fairphone is like half the price or less of the most expensive smartphones, it’s just far more than any phone I have bought before it.