Summary:
- Xiaomi is increasing the prices of various smartphones and tablets by up to ¥20,000 (approximately $137), attributing this move to rising memory and component expenses.
- The price hikes are steepest for the Xiaomi 17T Pro and several models in the POCO X8 Pro line, with some increases nearing 25%.
- This decision reflects a broader trend in the industry, where a shortage of memory is forcing manufacturers to transfer higher costs to consumers.
The significant rise in RAM prices is impacting smartphone pricing heavily, and Xiaomi has now become the latest notable Android manufacturer to respond to increasing production costs.
The company has revealed price increases across several of its smartphones and tablets, with some models witnessing a substantial hike of ¥20,000 (around $137). Xiaomi has stated that the escalating costs of memory and other components are becoming unsustainable for the company to absorb.
The adjustments will mostly affect the Xiaomi 17T Pro and various configurations of the POCO X8 Pro and X8 Pro Max. For instance, the price of the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage variant of the Xiaomi 17T Pro will rise from ¥119,800 (around $754) to ¥139,800 (around $879), while the 12GB/512GB variant will jump from ¥139,800 (around $879) to ¥159,800 (around $1,005).
Similarly drastic increases can be seen in the POCO line. The POCO X8 Pro Max 12GB/256GB model will go from ¥79,980 (approximately $545) to ¥99,980 (approximately $681). The 12GB/512GB version will increase from ¥89,980 (around $613) to ¥109,980 (approximately $749).
Other configurations of the POCO X8 Pro will also see an uptick of ¥20,000 (around $125), while Xiaomi’s tablets will experience more modest increases, ranging from ¥2,000 (around $12) to ¥10,000 (around $62).
These new prices will be implemented starting September 1 for Xiaomi and Redmi products, while the updated prices for affected POCO models will be active from September 4.
Reasons Behind Xiaomi’s Price Increase
Xiaomi has mentioned that it had been absorbing rising costs in order to maintain affordability, but the recent surge in costs has made this approach impossible. The surge in memory prices has been identified as a major contributing factor to this price elevation.
Reports indicate that the second quarter of 2026 already reflected the adverse effects of climbing memory and component costs on Xiaomi’s smartphone business. Revenues from smartphones dropped 7.5% year-on-year, alongside a dramatic shipment decrease of 26%.
Additionally, a report from Counterpoint Research highlighted that smartphone sales in China plummeted by 13% during the 618 shopping festival, as manufacturers raised prices and minimized discounts in an effort to counteract escalating memory costs.
This situation poses a particular challenge for Android manufacturers like Xiaomi, as memory constitutes a significant portion of overall production costs. Historically, Chinese companies have positioned their products aggressively in the mid-range and budget segments. Transferring these additional costs to consumers threatens to further elevate prices at a time when market demand is waning.
Interestingly, Xiaomi aims to mitigate the impact of this on its upcoming smartphone release. The company announced that the new model debuting next week will be priced with “maximum consideration” to facilitate purchases for its fans. Although Xiaomi Japan has yet to confirm the model, various announcements are expected during IFA next week.
