More Consumers to Choose a Pre-owned Smartphone in 2026 Due to Price Rises and Shrinkflation
Overview:
Skyrocketing memory prices are fundamentally impacting the BoM (Bill of Materials) for smartphone manufacturers. These rises will have two inevitable outcomes: an increase in the final price of new smartphones, or shrinkflation (reduced or similar specifications to previous generations). Neither of these outcomes are ideal for consumers, and further strengthens the value proposition of the pre-owned smartphone market. This report discusses how we will see a divergence in market trajectories for the new and pre-owned smartphone markets in 2026, and how the industry needs to prepare.
Table of Contents:
- Rising Memory Prices Strengthens Value Proposition of Pre-owned Smartphones
- A Pre-owned Smartphone Can Be the Smarter Choice in 2026
- Supply of Pre-owned Devices to Become Even More Critical
Number of Pages: 3
Published Date: February 2026
Category
Industry
Smartphone
Service
Pre-Owned Smartphone Market Reports
Report Type
Report
Time Period
Other
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Author
Jan Stryjak
Jan is an Associate Director with Counterpoint Research, based in London, and leads the company’s European and Sustainability research. He is a seasoned analyst with over 17 years’ experience in the TMT sector, previously with GSMA Intelligence where he led a team of analysts producing highly impactful regional insights. Before that, Jan held strategy and analyst positions at Vodafone UK and Qualcomm respectively, and started his career with research firm TNS (now Kantar).