Archive · 16 Sep 2026
Rising Smartphone Prices May Make Insurance Essential in India
Smartphones are becoming more expensive because companies need more memory chips.
Those chips are in high demand because of artificial-intelligence data centers.
As phones cost more, people may keep them for three years or longer instead of buying new ones.
Keeping a phone longer means it has more time to break or develop battery problems.
Standard warranties may end before people stop using their phones.
Insurance or protection plans can help pay for some repairs after that.
Servify says people buy these plans more often with expensive phones.
Some phone makers may raise prices or offer less memory if chip costs keep increasing.
This could make phone insurance a more common purchase in India.
Servify says protection-plan purchases are rising as Indians keep smartphones for longer.
Premium smartphone insurance attach rates are reportedly 30 to 40 percent higher than for mid- to high-end devices.
Longer ownership increases exposure to accidental damage, battery wear and out-of-warranty repairs.
Counterpoint Research projects global average smartphone prices will rise 6.9 percent in 2026 because of chip shortages.
Nothing co-founder Carl Pei warns memory costs could push brands to raise prices or reduce specifications.
- Who
- Indian smartphone consumers, Servify, Counterpoint Research and phone-industry figures including Sreevathsa Prabhakar and Carl Pei.
- What
- Rising smartphone prices and longer replacement cycles may make insurance and extended protection plans more common.
- When
- The article discusses current trends and cites a projected global smartphone-price increase for 2026.
- Where
- India, with some component and pricing trends described globally.
- Why
- AI data-center demand is increasing memory-chip costs, while consumers are keeping phones longer and facing more repair risks outside standard warranties.
- Servify activity
- Servify says it enables more than 250,000 repairs and over 300,000 trade-ins annually.
- Premium-plan attachment
- Protection-plan attach rates on premium smartphones are reported to be 30 to 40 percent higher than on mid- to high-end devices in India.
- iPhone pricing
- The article says iPhone pricing is now approaching Rs. 4.5 lakhs.
- Projected 2026 price growth
- Counterpoint Research projects a 6.9 percent year-on-year increase in global average smartphone selling prices in 2026.
- Memory-chip demand
- AI data-center expansion has increased demand for memory chips and tightened smartphone DRAM availability.
- Potential brand response
- Nothing co-founder Carl Pei says memory costs have risen by up to three times in some cases and that brands could raise prices by 30 percent or more or reduce specifications.