Premium segment defies trend as rising memory costs push entry-level smartphone prices higher

Pointing to a sharp pricing divide triggered by rising memory chip costs, prices of entry-level smartphones in India have risen by as much as 40% over the past year, while several premium flagship devices have become cheaper by up to 20%.

The gap driven by rising artificial intelligence (AI) led global NAND flash and DRAM memory costs point to a pertinent divide in the handset market, where the segment most exposed to component inflation is also the least capable of resisting it, according to a recent report by Techarc, a technology market research and consulting firm.