Core Insights - The global smartphone shipment is expected to decline significantly to approximately 1.1 billion units this year, down from 1.26 billion units last year due to a shortage of storage chips [1] - The surge in demand for high-end storage to support artificial intelligence tasks has consumed a large portion of global supply, and this supply tightness is anticipated to persist until 2027 [1] - The impact of the storage chip shortage is particularly severe on low-cost smartphones, with rising storage chip prices squeezing the already thin margins of Android brands [1] - It is projected that the contract prices for DRAM chips will increase by 90% to 95% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of this year, while NAND flash prices are expected to rise by 55% to 60% [1]