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About this Episode
A fresh wave of price hikes has hit China's smartphone market, as Huawei, Xiaomi and Honor increased retail prices for several current models by between 200 ($29.75) and 1,000 yuan, triggering heated chatter on social media.
新一轮涨价潮席卷中国智能手机市场，华为、小米和荣耀将多款在售机型的零售价格上调了200元（约合29.75美元）至1000元不等，引发社交媒体热议。
The coordinated adjustments come amid tightened memory chip supply and sustained price increases for key semiconductors.
这轮集体调价正值存储芯片供应趋紧、关键半导体价格持续上涨之际。
Huawei led the increases, with its Mate 80 series jumping by as much as 1,000 yuan on Tuesday, while the 90 Pro Max sold for an extra 200 yuan. Xiaomi, which had already adjusted prices on Aug 2, raised the Xiaomi 17 and 17 Pro by 300 yuan each — its second hike in less than a month.
华为率先涨价，其Mate 80系列周二涨幅高达1000元，90 Pro Max则上涨200元。小米已于8月2日调价一次，随后将小米17和17 Pro各上调300元——这是其不到一个月内的第二次涨价。
Honor followed suit, lifting its Power2 by 500 and 600 yuan for its two variants, and increasing its flagship Magic8 series by 300 to 500 yuan across versions, bringing post-hike prices to between 4,799 and 5,999 yuan.
荣耀紧随其后，将其Power2的两款机型分别上调500元和600元，旗舰Magic8系列各版本上调300至500元，涨价后售价在4799元至5999元之间。
In response to the increases, a Huawei customer service representative said the upward adjustments were necessary because "market prices of key materials have changed, leading to higher production costs".
针对此次涨价，华为客服代表表示，上调价格是必要的，因为“关键材料的市场价格发生了变化，导致生产成本上升”。
At the crux of the surge is a structural imbalance in global memory chip supplies. As artificial intelligence model training and AI server infrastructure expand at a breakneck pace, major memory makers — Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron — have shifted substantial high-end capacity toward high-margin HBM (high bandwidth memory), mainly used in servers, thus directly squeezing the supply of handset-oriented DRAM and NAND memory chips. That supply crunch has sent mobile memory prices soaring.
本轮涨价的根源在于全球存储芯片供应的结构性失衡。随着人工智能模型训练和AI服务器基础设施以惊人速度扩张，三星、SK海力士和美光等主要存储芯片制造商已将大量高端产能转向主要用于服务器的高利润HBM（高带宽内存），从而直接挤压了面向手机的DRAM和NAND存储芯片的供应。这种供应紧张已推动手机存储芯片价格飙升。
Market research firm Trend-Force said in a recent report that memory prices have accumulated a five- to seven-fold increase since the start of 2025, forcing brands to either raise prices sharply or discontinue product lines that have turned loss-making.
市场研究机构集邦咨询在近期报告中称，自2025年初以来，存储芯片价格已累计上涨五至七倍，迫使品牌要么大幅提价，要么停产已陷入亏损的产品线。
The cost pressure, however, is no longer limited to storage. In late July, Qualcomm Inc CEO Cristiano Amon said the chipmaker planned to raise its product prices effective Sept 1.
然而，成本压力已不再局限于存储领域。7月下旬，高通公司首席执行官克里斯蒂亚诺·阿蒙表示，这家芯片制造商计划自9月1日起上调产品价格。
Amon explained that the hike reflects broader cost increases across the supply chain. This means smartphone makers now face a dual squeeze from both memory and SoC (system-on-chip) costs — a major factor behind the simultaneous retail price adjustments seen on Tuesday.
阿蒙解释说，此次涨价反映了整个供应链更广泛的成本上升。这意味着智能手机制造商现在面临着来自存储芯片和SoC（系统级芯片）成本的双重挤压——这也是周二零售端集体调价的主要原因。
The current round of price increases differs somewhat from previous ones. In the past, price hikes typically accompanied new product launches, justified by upgraded features or specifications, experts said.
专家表示，本轮涨价与此前有所不同。过去，涨价通常伴随新品发布，并以功能或规格升级作为理由。
This time around, however, brands are directly raising prices on devices already available in the market. Xiaomi's case is particularly telling: its Tuesday increase came less than a month after its Aug 2 hike, indicating that manufacturers are passing on costs gradually through multiple small adjustments rather than a single large spike, as component costs remain stubbornly elevated.
然而，这一次品牌直接上调了已在售机型的售价。小米的案例尤为典型：其周二涨价距离8月2日的上一轮涨价不到一个月，表明在元器件成本持续高企的情况下，制造商正通过多次小幅调整而非一次性大幅提价来逐步转嫁成本。
Top executives had already hinted at the coming price increases. On Aug 5, Huawei's executive director and chairman of its terminal business group, Yu Chengdong, warned that "with memory prices so high, all phones may have to see large-scale price rises in the future; otherwise, they would be sold at a loss".
企业高管此前已暗示即将到来的涨价。8月5日，华为常务董事、终端BG董事长余承东警告称：“存储芯片价格这么高，未来所有手机可能都不得不大幅涨价，否则就会亏本销售。”
In a May livestreaming session, Xiaomi President Lu Weibing predicted that by the second half, some domestic flagship slab phones could break through the 10,000-yuan price barrier.
在5月的一次直播中，小米总裁卢伟冰预测，到下半年，部分国产旗舰直板手机可能突破万元价格关口。
Indeed, the industry has been grappling with rising prices since the third quarter of last year. Almost every major brand — Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, Huawei and Honor — has raised retail prices to varying degrees, with mid-range and entry-level models typically seeing increases of 300 to 500 yuan, while high-end flagships and foldables have recorded hikes exceeding 1,000 yuan.
事实上，自去年第三季度以来，整个行业一直在应对价格上涨压力。几乎所有主流品牌——三星、OPPO、vivo、华为和荣耀——都不同程度地上调了零售价格，中端和入门级机型通常上涨300至500元，而高端旗舰机和折叠屏机型的涨幅则超过1000元。
According to US market research firm International Data Corp, China's smartphone shipments in the second quarter stood at approximately 66 million units, a year-on-year decline of 4.3 percent, continuing a streak of quarterly drops. For the first half, total shipments reached about 134 million units, down 4.2 percent from the same period last year.
据美国市场研究机构国际数据公司（IDC）数据，第二季度中国智能手机出货量约为6600万部，同比下降4.3%，延续了季度下滑趋势。上半年总出货量约为1.34亿部，较去年同期下降4.2%。
coordinated adjustments /kəʊˈɔːdɪneɪtɪd əˈdʒʌstmənts/集体调价
memory chip /ˈmeməri tʃɪp/存储芯片
semiconductor /ˌsemikənˈdʌktə/半导体
high-end /haɪ end/高端的
high-margin /haɪ ˈmɑːdʒɪn/高利润的
structural imbalance /ˈstrʌktʃərəl ɪmˈbæləns/结构性失衡
breakneck pace /ˈbreɪknek peɪs/惊人的速度
supply crunch /səˈplaɪ krʌntʃ/供应紧张
loss-making /ˈlɒs ˈmeɪkɪŋ/亏损的
dual squeeze /ˈdjuːəl skwiːz/双重挤压
Hosts & Guests
No transcript available for this episode.
