Tech Weekly: Guitar Prices and Industry Trends Amid New Round of Adjustments in Consumer Electronics

At the beginning of 2026, the technology industry is experiencing a wave of intensive adjustments and upgrades. From the foundational restructuring of AI assistants to rising hardware costs, and to shifts in corporate welfare concepts, the entire ecosystem is undergoing profound changes. Against this backdrop, fluctuations in prices—from high-end consumer goods to everyday devices, and emerging hardware like smart guitars—reflect the pressure on market supply chains propagating throughout the entire industry.

Apple and Google Join Hands, Siri to Undergo Major Generative AI Upgrade

According to the latest Bloomberg report, Apple is redefining its AI strategy. After setbacks in internal model development and talent loss, Apple has ultimately chosen to deepen its collaboration with Google, integrating Gemini technology into the next generation of Siri.

Reported by Bloomberg senior reporter Mark Gurman, the new Siri powered by Google Gemini will enter the iOS 26.4 testing phase next month and is planned to be rolled out to users between March and April this year. This new version will run on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute servers, equipped with self-developed Apple Foundation Models version 10, with a parameter scale of 1.2 trillion.

More notably, Apple is developing a new Siri architecture codenamed “Campos,” expected to be launched in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27. This version will feature enhanced contextual understanding and continuous dialogue capabilities, deeply integrating core apps like Safari, TV, Health, and Music.

Apple’s strategic background warrants deep reflection. By mid-2025, Apple had engaged with multiple model providers including Anthropic and OpenAI, but the former withdrew due to high pricing, while the latter caused strategic conflicts by actively poaching Apple engineers. Ultimately, in September last year, a US court ruling cleared the way for Apple and Google’s search partnership without requiring separation, removing obstacles for further cooperation. Meanwhile, Apple’s internal AI organization is undergoing major restructuring. With the departure of senior VP John Giannandrea, responsible for machine learning and AI strategy, software engineering head Craig Federighi has officially taken over AI direction and is pushing forward the collaboration with Google.

Chip Supply Chain Price Surge Escalates, NAND Flash Costs Rise Over 100%

The storage chip market is experiencing an unusual price hike cycle. According to Korean media ethnews, Samsung Electronics has increased NAND flash supply prices by over 100% in Q1 2026, far exceeding previous market expectations.

This price adjustment began in January and is expected to continue into Q2. Samsung had already completed new supply contract negotiations with major clients at the end of last year, and has been supplying at the adjusted prices since January. Notably, DRAM contract prices have risen nearly 70%, and NAND prices have increased even more, clearly indicating an intensifying supply-demand imbalance in the storage chip market.

Samsung is not acting alone. Industry insiders and analysts speculate that SK Hynix, the world’s second-largest NAND manufacturer, has similar price hikes; overseas brokerages even predict that the fifth-largest NAND maker, SanDisk, will also raise NAND prices by about 100% this year. Price hikes have become a widespread industry trend.

The core reason for the increase is rapid demand expansion coupled with limited supply growth. On one hand, AI infrastructure development has significantly boosted enterprise-level eSSD demand; on the other, smartphones and PCs are accelerating adoption of high-performance, large-capacity storage solutions, and the proliferation of edge AI further drives NAND demand. On the supply side, slow growth due to lack of large-scale capacity expansion last year and process transition constraints have contributed to sluggish supply increases.

Data from industry research firm TrendForce shows NAND prices rose approximately 33% to 38% quarter-over-quarter in Q4 2025, with the actual increase in Q1 2026 significantly surpassing previous expectations. This rising cost will inevitably impact downstream sectors, from AI data center construction to consumer products, all facing upward pricing pressure. Some industry analysts even suggest that rising memory costs could become a bottleneck for AI adoption.

Consumer Electronics Price Cuts, iPhone Air and Honor Magic8 in Fierce Competition

Amid rising chip costs, terminal products are experiencing price reductions. This reflects fierce competition among manufacturers and their desire for market share.

On January 25, Apple launched its Tmall New Year Shopping Festival promotion, with notable discounts on the iPhone Air. The 256GB iPhone Air, originally priced at 7,999 yuan, was cut by 2,000 yuan at official stores, and after national subsidies, the final price dropped to as low as 5,499 yuan—placing it in the same price range as the standard iPhone 17. Additionally, discounts of up to 300 yuan on iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max, up to 1,200 yuan on MacBook Air, and up to 1,000 yuan on iPad Air were offered. The stock volume for this event was substantial, including about 200,000 units of iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max, 13,000 units of iPhone Air, 7,300 units of MacBook Air (M4 chip), 20,000 units of iPad Air, and 6,000 units of iPad mini.

It’s worth noting that just three months after its release on October 22 last year, the iPhone Air saw a significant price drop. This model features eSIM design, weighs 165 grams, and is 5.6mm thick, making it Apple’s thinnest iPhone. Due to limited eSIM support from domestic carriers initially, it was not immediately available in China. Through ongoing channel discounts and trade-in subsidies, third-party platforms reduced the price to around 5,099 yuan, a cumulative cut of about 2,900 yuan from the official price.

Meanwhile, Honor is also making a strong push. Honor’s President of Sales and Service, Wang Ban, announced that the first-day sales of Magic8 Pro Air exceeded those of the iPhone Air. The sales of Magic8 RSR Porsche Design surpassed all previous Porsche Design versions, setting new records. This competition is driving adjustments in the overall pricing structure of the smartphone market.

CEO’s Major Investment and Corporate Welfare Innovation

Beyond products and prices, corporate investments in employees are creating new topics. QuMi founder Yu Hao recently announced that the “Antarctica trip” for outstanding employees has officially been arranged, with ten employees successfully arriving in Antarctica. Yu Hao emphasized that choosing Antarctica as a reward destination is because “we want to go to the furthest place,” not as some external speculation about “riding the heat.” He pointed out that trips to Antarctica, especially to the South Pole, require at least six months of preparation, and the company has already started planning.

In addition to the Antarctica trip, Yu Hao also revealed that this year’s QuMi annual meeting will be replaced with “everyone watching a concert,” aiming to engage employees in a more innovative way. He stated that within their capacity, the company has always tried its best to treat employees with sincerity.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s visit to Shanghai also drew widespread attention. On January 24, he discreetly arrived in Shanghai to kick off his annual routine visit to China. After arriving, he appeared at the Rushan Road Jinde Canteen Market in Lujiazui, attracting many netizens. From the footage, he was dressed in black, wearing a “bureau-level jacket” popular locally, walking between stalls, eating, and taking photos with citizens. A fruit vendor even handed him a signed red envelope.

Diverse Experiments in Consumer AI Applications and Smart Hardware

During the second offline session of AIDONE, Guangzhou Future Society·533 witnessed the democratization of AI development. AI expert Xue Zhirong shared insights on “building AI tools from zero in 10 minutes,” highlighting Vibe Coding’s “super simple” and “highly efficient” features. Open mic guests from Baidu Miao Da, MiniMax Agent, ByteDance TRAE, Alibaba Qoder, and others showcased the limitless possibilities of AI tool customization.

The event also featured continued promotion of the Sugar Factory’s “trade-in” activity, along with an interesting DIY hard candy graffiti workshop. The Musspark smart guitar brand hosted a “grassland concert” on the Future Society lawn, demonstrating the trend of integrating smart hardware with traditional musical instruments. Improvements in guitar pricing and performance are attracting more consumer attention to such hybrid products. These scenes reflect consumers’ focus not only on guitar prices but also on user experience and intelligent features.

Ongoing Controversies in AI, Industry Returning to Rational Reflection

The proliferation of generative AI has not progressed as smoothly as expected. Razer CEO Chen Minliang, in an interview on The Verge’s podcast “Decoder,” admitted that although Razer has invested about $600 million in AI technology, players still strongly reject low-quality generative content. He pointed out that players’ real dissatisfaction lies in “garbage content produced by generative AI,” including deformed character models and poor story quality.

Chen Minliang emphasized that Razer aligns with players’ stance, opposing bulk generation of low-quality content with minimal prompts. He believes AI’s value should lie in “assisting developers,” not “replacing creation,” such as improving QA testing efficiency and automatically recording bugs. The company plans to hire 150 AI engineers and sees AI as a long-term bet.

In education, New Oriental founder Yu Minhong expressed more controversial views. At the Chongli Forum, he stated that technological change is driving education from “one mouth and one blackboard” to “Internet + Education,” and further toward “AI + Education.” He believes AI can now handle nearly 100% of English communication and homework grading, and that future teachers’ core value will shift to inspiring students’ potential, shaping character, and guiding growth. Based on this standard, he bluntly said that “more than half” of domestic primary and secondary school teachers are “unqualified.”

A survey by Japan’s Freelance Union further confirms AI-related anxiety. Over 1/10 of Japanese manga artists and illustrators have experienced income declines due to the spread of generative AI, with 9.3% seeing a 10%-50% drop, and 2.7% experiencing more than 50% decline. Industry demands for regulation and clearer copyright policies are rising sharply, with 88.6% of respondents viewing generative AI as a threat to their livelihood.

Major Tech Financing and M&A Trends of the Year

In financing, legal tech company Harvey continues expanding, acquiring the two-year-old startup Hexus to strengthen its legal tech product capabilities. Hexus mainly provides product demos, video, and operation guide generation tools, and its team in San Francisco has joined Harvey. Last year, Harvey completed a $760 million funding round, with a valuation reaching $8 billion.

The ownership of Leica cameras is also a focus. Blackstone is in early discussions with Leica and the Koffman family about selling controlling stakes, with a potential deal valued at around 1 billion euros. Blackstone acquired about 45% of Leica in 2011 and has driven the brand’s transformation from traditional camera maker to high-end luxury brand over the past decade. Potential buyers include HSG (formerly Sequoia China) and private equity firm Altor Equity Partners.

Galaxy General Robotics has become the designated embodied large model robot for the 2026 Spring Festival Gala. The company recently completed a $300 million funding round, with a valuation surpassing $3 billion, maintaining its position as a leading domestic embodied intelligence enterprise.

Consumer Product Updates and Market Details

Details about the Galaxy S26 series are gradually emerging. According to leaks from Finnish retailers, the series will continue with three models: standard, Plus, and Ultra. Unlike last year’s Galaxy S25, which still offered a 128GB base in some markets, Samsung is expected to raise the starting capacity of the S26 series to 256GB in Europe and other regions. All three models will be available in black, white, sky blue, and cobalt purple.

Other consumer electronics are also undergoing annual updates. The “Diver Dave” mobile game’s Chinese version is confirmed to launch on February 6, priced at 24 yuan; the 2026 Hard Candy C³ charger from Sugar Factory represents a new upgrade in charging technology, supporting AVS low-temperature fast charging and PPS dual-core dual-hold, with TimiC scheduling 2.0.

Observation and Outlook

What is the core driving force behind this wave of industry adjustments? On one hand, rising chip costs are pushing up the entire supply chain’s expenses; on the other, rapid AI technological iteration is reshaping product forms and corporate strategies. From Apple and Google’s partnership to Samsung NAND price hikes, from CEO welfare innovations to fierce consumer product competition, all these changes point in the same direction: the industry is undergoing a profound shift from hardware-driven to AI-driven transformation.

In this process, everything from chip prices to guitar prices, and to the pricing of various consumer electronics, is constantly adjusting. These seemingly disparate changes actually reflect a unified reality—industry chains are seeking new balance points, and companies are re-evaluating their competitive strategies and value propositions. For consumers, understanding these deeper logical shifts may help make more informed purchasing decisions.