Samsung reportedly to cut smartphone output by up to 30% in Q4 2026

IT Home, citing a Money Today report on October 8, said Samsung Electronics' Mobile eXperience (MX) division has planned to reduce smartphone production, with output in the fourth quarter of 2026 potentially falling by up to 30%. According to multiple sources in the IT industry, Samsung's MX division has notified several partners to cut product supply by 20% to 30%. IT Home noted that the original report did not specify whether this 30% reduction is quarter-on-quarter, year-on-year, or compared with previous production expectations. In terms of output, Samsung Electronics had originally planned to produce up to 270 million smartphones annually, relying on new products such as the Galaxy Z Fold8. After the significant cut in the fourth quarter, the final annual output is expected to drop to just over 200 million units, a decline exceeding market expectations. IDC data shows that smartphone shipments in the first and second quarters of this year were 62.4 million and 62.7 million units, respectively, with previous forecasts for the third and fourth quarters at 59 million and 52 million units, indicating a decline of about 12% in the fourth quarter compared with the third. The Money Today report said rising memory prices are the core driver behind the production cuts. TrendForce data shows that in the second quarter of this year, the price of 12GB low-power DRAM (LPDDR5X) for smartphones ranged from $145 to $146, up 175% year-on-year. The report also noted that AI demand has pushed up memory prices, with smartphone DRAM prices expected to rise another 20% in the third quarter, reaching up to $180. Industry sources said Samsung's smartphone sales are currently unprofitable, and production cuts are a strategy to maintain overall profitability.