As memory prices surge and global smartphone prices rise about 20 percent this year, criticism has emerged that manufacturers are not offering low-cost battery replacement policies to support long-term device use.

On Oct. 16, tech outlet Engadget noted that as more consumers put off buying new devices and shift to used and refurbished phones, battery replacement costs remain high.

Battery replacement costs are substantial. Apple charges $129 for out-of-warranty battery replacement for its latest Pro models. The iPhone 12, a 2020 standard model, costs $89. The iPhone Duo battery replacement fee is set at $229. Samsung does not prominently list out-of-warranty battery replacement prices on its website, but costs cited online are generally in the $99 to $129 range.

The two companies encourage customers to sign up for extended warranties that include battery replacement. These plans often must be purchased shortly after buying the device. There is also the option of self-repair, but recent smartphones are not easy to repair on one’s own because of their design.

Battery replacement has not always cost this much. After controversy over iPhone performance slowdowns, Apple lowered out-of-warranty battery replacement prices in the United States to as low as $29 for one year in 2018. That was $50 lower than the usual price at the time. As a result, Apple's annual battery replacements reportedly surged to 11 million in 2018 from 1 million to 2 million previously.

Apple later acknowledged that low-cost battery replacement affected demand for new devices to some extent. At the time, Chief Executive Tim Cook said, "Some customers are taking advantage of the significantly reduced price for iPhone battery replacements." Apple pointed to a slowdown in the Chinese economy due to U.S.-China trade frictions as the main reason for weaker results at the time.

More recently, new device price increases have been more pronounced. On the day Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo, it also raised prices by $100 for existing models, including the older iPhone 17. Samsung also increased prices by $100 for most of its S26 lineup earlier this month. That followed a launch at higher prices than the 2025 models, and then an additional hike. Mid-range devices were not exempt. Samsung’s S26 FE was priced at $700, with a higher launch price than the S25 FE and S24 FE. The improvements to the products were also cited as not being significant.

Consumer conditions have also worsened. U.S. consumer prices have risen about 34 percent since January 2018. That means the amount one can buy with the same $1 has fallen by about a quarter from before. Nominal wages have risen, but perceived purchasing power has weakened. According to analysis by the Pew Research Center, U.S. median weekly wages adjusted for inflation fell about 3.2 percent from December 2020 to December 2025. Real hourly wages were also about 1 percent lower than in December 2020, and in August they fell 0.3 percent from a year earlier.

Against this backdrop, Engadget described memory costs as being in a state of "sharply inflated" pricing. By contrast, lithium-ion battery cells were cited as a smartphone component category where costs have fallen significantly. Manufacturers are raising product prices due to memory, labor costs and supply shortages, but it suggests there may be more room to cut prices for batteries.

In particular, Apple’s $100 increase from the previous $799 price of the iPhone 17 amounts to a 12.5 percent rise. Given that other consumer goods prices rose about 3.4 percent over the same period, the increase was larger. Critics say manufacturers are focused on protecting profitability, pushing repair policies that help consumers use devices longer into the background.

Another key issue is memory supply and demand. If, as memory makers such as SK hynix project, the point at which supply catches up with demand is pushed back to 2030, the pricing-uptrend stance of smartphone makers could last longer. In that situation, lowering battery replacement costs could be the most direct response for consumers facing a growing burden to buy new devices.