When Apple sneezes, the tech world catches a cold—and right now, the second-hand market is feeling the fever. The recent price hikes on new Apple gear are driving up costs for pre-owned devices, too.
We’ve been digging into the data, and honestly, the numbers are pretty wild. Over on the second-hand platform Zhuanzhuan, the recent transaction floor price for the high-end MacBook Pro 2021 model has jumped by about $55 (400 RMB) compared to June 28th. If you look back to June 21st, that’s a staggering increase of nearly $140 (1,000 RMB) in just a matter of days. Even the more budget-friendly MacBook Pro running the M1 chip isn’t safe; its transaction floor price has crept up by roughly $40 (300 RMB) recently.
I also checked out the stats on Xianyu, another go-to marketplace. Right now, the average price tag on an Apple laptop sits around $355 (2,560 RMB), showing a weekly increase of about 6%. But honestly, take that average with a grain of salt. It’s dragged down by a flood of cheap parts—like salvaged speakers and hard drives—and a mix of ancient models. If you’re looking for a ready-to-use machine in good condition, you’ll be paying significantly more.
A customer service rep from Zhuanzhuan explained it to us pretty simply: “The market price for used machines fluctuates daily; there’s no fixed price tag. Even units of the same model will vary wildly in cost depending on the version, memory, and physical condition.”
Meanwhile, Apple’s trade-in program is seeing a massive spike in activity. Data from JD.com shows that on June 26th, trade-in volumes for the iPhone 17 series more than tripled compared to the previous period. A massive wave of users holding onto older models like the iPhone 11 and 12 are rushing into the channel to get their devices appraised and upgrade.
To give you some context, Apple announced these official price adjustments on June 25th. After updating its China-region website, the entry-level MacBook Air soared from 8,499 RMB to 9,999 RMB—a single jump of 1,500 RMB. The iPad Air wasn’t spared, either, climbing from 4,799 RMB to 5,999 RMB, a hefty 1,200 RMB hike. The iPad Pro smashed through the psychological 10,000 RMB barrier, landing at 10,799 RMB. But the real shocker was the professional workstation Mac Studio, which saw its starting price leap from 16,499 RMB to 19,999 RMB. That’s a brutal 3,500 RMB increase, making it the hardest-hit product in this round of price hikes.
Apple explained that the price hike is driven by “soaring core component costs due to the expansion of AI data centers,” noting that the company could no longer afford to absorb the costs internally. Interestingly, the iPhone lineup has been spared for now, but the market widely expects the iPhone 18 series to follow suit with a price bump when it launches in the fall of 2026.
Even though there was a reason for the hike, the market didn’t love it. On the day of the announcement, Apple’s stock tumbled over 6%, wiping out a staggering $263 billion in market value in a single day—the second-largest drop in its history.
It’s not just Apple feeling the heat, though. The Android camp is already navigating its second wave of price increases this year. Back in the first quarter, Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo had already kicked off the first round by raising prices on some smartphones.
By June, the second round of price adjustments hit hard, and the increases were noticeably steeper. Vivo’s iQOO brand launched its second hike on June 24th. The top-tier iQOO 15 Ultra with 24GB+1TB storage saw its official price rise by 500 RMB, bringing its total cumulative increase to 1,500 RMB and a final price of 8,199 RMB. Brands like OPPO, Xiaomi, and Honor, which had already raised prices in Q1, followed up again in June, with mid-range models generally seeing a 300 to 800 RMB uptick.
Furthermore, the world’s top five PC manufacturers—Lenovo, HP, Dell, Asus, and Acer—have all been raising prices since April 2026, with some popular models seeing increases exceeding 30%. Data from Counterpoint shows that the global average smartphone price rose 6.9% year-over-year in 2026. The Chinese market is seeing significantly higher increases than the global average, with new models costing 15% to 25% more than their 2025 counterparts. IDC even predicts flagship models could break the 30% increase mark.
The direct trigger for this wave of inflation is the skyrocketing price of DRAM and NAND flash memory. According to data from TrendForce, by May 2026, the spot price of mainstream global DDR4 8Gb memory chips had climbed to $20. This is a cumulative increase of over 300% from the 2025 low, hitting a historical peak since statistics began in 2016.
The three storage giants—Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron—have diverted more than 70% of their advanced production capacity to High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) specifically for AI servers. This has severely restricted the supply of consumer-grade memory and SSDs. This supply-demand mismatch has directly driven up core material costs for big names like Apple, Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo.
Market research firm Omdia’s latest forecasts paint a complex picture. Global smartphone shipments are expected to drop by 12.2% year-over-year in 2026, falling to 1.093 billion units—a loss of about 152 million units compared to 2025. However, the total market value is projected to grow by 6.1% in the same period. The global average selling price is expected to leap from $467 in 2025 to $565, a shocking 21% increase (roughly $98). Both the speed and the absolute value of this increase are record-breaking.
TechInsights’ data reveals that, driven by the insatiable demand from AI data centers, prices for DRAM and NAND flash chips have both quadrupled over the past 12 months and are expected to keep climbing next year.
IDC predicts that China’s second-hand smartphone market (including refurbished units) will exceed 100 million units in 2026. As the price surge continues, consumers are becoming more inclined to hold onto their existing devices for longer, tightening the supply and demand in the used market even further. There is still some unpriced inventory from older channels left, but these low-cost sources are drying up fast. My advice? If you desperately need a device, you might want to grab one now or seriously consider going for a previous-generation model that offers better bang for your buck.
