February 26 (Reuters) - The global smartphone market is expected to experience its biggest ever decline in 2026, with shipments falling to their lowest level in more than a decade, due to rising memory chip prices driving up device costs, research firm IDC said on Thursday.

The company explained in a report that smartphone shipments are expected to decline by 12.9 percent to 1.12 billion units.

The report stated that the decline will affect manufacturers of low-cost Android devices more severely, while Apple and Samsung are in a position to gain market share as smaller competitors struggle or exit the market altogether.

“What we are seeing is not a temporary squeeze, but a tsunami-like shock that originated in the memory chip supply chain,” said Francisco Jeronimo, vice president of global devices at IDC.

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure by technology companies such as Meta, Google, and Microsoft has led to the acquisition of most of the memory chip supply, driving up prices at a time when manufacturers have prioritized higher-margin data center components over consumer devices.

Analysts said rising component costs will force companies focused on budget-friendly devices to pass the expenses on to consumers.

IDC said that Apple and Samsung, which have stronger budgets, are in a better position.

The company expects the average selling price of smartphones to rise 14 percent to a record high of $523 this year, as manufacturers move toward higher-margin models to offset rising costs.