BT Warns of Smartphone Price Increases Due to AI Chip Shortage

BT, one of the UK's largest telecom companies, has warned of the risk of rising prices for smartphones and other electronics. The reason is unexpected: technology giants are hoarding memory microchips to power AI data centers, creating a market shortage.

Who is Behind the Hoarding

BT CEO Allison Kirkby emphasized that companies investing in artificial intelligence are massively purchasing high-speed memory and storage devices. These data centers require enormous volumes of equipment for training large language models and processing user requests. OpenAI, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and other AI players are competing to expand their own infrastructure. Each company is investing tens of billions in purchasing servers and chips. Demand is growing exponentially.

Impact on Consumer Devices

Manufacturers of smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other consumer electronics are now competing with AI giants for limited chip quantities. Since AI companies are willing to pay premium prices, memory is shifting from the consumer segment to the corporate sector. This means several consequences:

• Smartphone prices could rise by 10-20% over the course of 2026
• Flagship models will suffer less, budget smartphones will suffer more
• Device delivery times will increase by several months
• Small manufacturers will suffer more acutely than corporate giants

Kirkby noted that the problem is already visible in current orders and will only accelerate.

"We expect significant shortages in the coming months.

Demand for AI chips is simply enormous, and this is displacing consumer demand," said BT's CEO.

Global Scale of the Problem

The memory shortage is not limited to the UK. Manufacturers in other countries are also reporting pressure on supply chains. Analysts expect that the shortage will last until 2027 until manufacturers increase capacity to meet growing demand for microchips.

What This Means

The AI revolution has begun to overturn the microchip economy. Consumers will pay more for familiar devices—this is a direct side effect of technology companies' race for leadership in artificial intelligence.

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