--- title: "Smartphone crisis: why phones under $100 have disappeared in the US and who won from it" description: "📉 The US smartphone market is in shock: sales of devices under $100 plummeted by 64% in Q2 2026. 🧠 The main reason is the AI boom: cloud giants bought up all the memory, causing components to become more expensive. 🏆 Giants are winning: Apple, Samsung, and Motorola lost only 4%, while small brands lost 45%. 💰 Price shift: Samsung raised the price of the Galaxy A17 by $50. The $200–$300 segment tripled its market share. Is the era of cheap phones over?" date: 2026-08-15T19:36:16.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/smartphone-crisis-usa-budget-phones-disappear-2026-en tags: [smartphones, market-analysis, ai-impact, budget-tech, apple, samsung] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Smartphone crisis: why phones under $100 have disappeared in the US and who won from it ![Set of modern smartphones in various colors on a wooden table, illustrating the mobile device market in the context of the disappearance of budget models in the US](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/15/smartphone-crisis-usa-budget-phones-disappear-2026/smartphone-crisis-usa-budget-phones-disappear-2026-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - Smartphone sales in the US fell by 5%, while the segment under $100 dropped by 64%. - Rising memory prices are driven by purchases for artificial intelligence systems. - Major brands (Apple, Samsung) lost only 4%, while small ones lost 45%. - The $200–$300 segment tripled its market share against the backdrop of rising component costs. ### The collapse of the budget segment: a 64% drop The mobile device market in the United States has faced an unprecedented accessibility crisis. According to data from the analytics agency Counterpoint Research, published in August 2026, smartphone sales in the second quarter of this year fell by 5% compared to the same period in 2025. However, the overall figure hides a catastrophic situation in the lower price segment: sales of devices costing less than $100 plummeted by 64%. This means that the class of "budget phones," which was previously the backbone of the market for millions of users seeking affordable communication solutions, has practically disappeared. ### The memory paradox: AI vs. mass market The main cause of the collapse of the budget segment was the shortage and sharp rise in the cost of memory components. Manufacturers were forced to either completely stop supplying models cheaper than $100 or significantly raise their prices. Experts link this price surge to the active development of artificial intelligence. Major cloud infrastructure operators, such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, launched large-scale purchases of RAM and storage chips in 2026 for training and maintaining their neural networks. In conditions of shortage, priority was given to corporations with deep pockets, leading to smartphone manufacturers having to overpay for components, which made the production of cheap phones economically unviable. ### War of the giants: who survived and who disappeared The crisis revealed a clear skew towards market monopolization. The figures for the four leading brands — Apple, Samsung, Motorola, and Google — fell by only 4%, which is a minimal decline. Large companies demonstrated the advantage of scale, allowing them to purchase components on much more favorable terms and cover costs through the margin of flagship models. At the same time, other small manufacturers lost 45% of their sales, unable to compete in the price war. The market consolidated around a few players capable of dictating terms to suppliers. ### Price shift: the triumph of the middle class In response to the rising cost of components, manufacturers began an aggressive strategy of price revision. Motorola increased the price of several Moto G series models, and Samsung increased the price of the popular Galaxy A17 smartphone by $50 in July 2026. These measures led to an interesting market phenomenon: the segment of smartphones costing between $200 and $300 managed to triple its market share in a year. Consumers who previously bought phones for $100 were forced to overpay, moving into the mid-range price segment. This suggests that the era of ultra-cheap smartphones in the US has, for all intents and purposes, come to an end. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [The Best Budget Smartphones You Can Buy in Mid-2026](https://www.gizmochina.com/2026/07/27/best-budget-smartphones-you-can-buy-in-mid-2026/) - Подтверждено по источнику gizmochina.com - [Report: US smartphone sales fell 5% in Q2 2026 as prices keep climbing](https://9to5mac.com/2026/08/12/report-us-smartphone-sales-fell-5-in-q2-2026-as-prices-keep-climbing/) - Подтверждает падение на 5% и рост цен. - [US smartphone sales fell 5% in Q2 2026 and the situation is expected to get worse](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/us-smartphone-sales-fell-5-in-q2-2026-and-the-situation-is-expected-to-get-worse/ar-AA2a1pJz) - Подтверждает общую статистику и негативные прогнозы. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: Why did cheap smartphones become more expensive in 2026? **A:** The main reason is the sharp rise in the cost of memory due to purchases by companies developing artificial intelligence. ### Q: Which brands were affected the least? **A:** Major manufacturers — Apple, Samsung, Motorola, and Google — reduced sales by only 4%. ### Q: What happened to phones cheaper than $100? **A:** Their sales plummeted by 64%, many models were discontinued or became more expensive.