The smartphone industry has spent years teaching consumers to expect one thing from a new generation. It should be better than the last one. That usually means a faster processor, stronger graphics performance and better overall hardware. Even when the improvement is small, the direction has generally been upward.
But some of the smartphones launching in 2026 are challenging that assumption. I recently noticed newer smartphones posting benchmark figures below those of phones that had already launched months earlier. The difference is particularly visible in raw CPU, GPU and AnTuTu scores.
This does not mean newer smartphones are universally worse. Benchmarks also do not capture every part of the smartphone experience. However, the pattern raises a bigger question. Why are some new smartphones launching with lower performance than models that were already available earlier? The answer could partly lie in the changing economics of smartphone hardware.
A newer launch is not always bringing more performance
The Redmi Note 17 Pro Max provides an interesting starting point. Launched in India in September 2026, the smartphone scored 898 in Geekbench single-core, 2,798 in multi-core and 3,255 in the GPU test. Its AnTuTu score stood at 986,185.
Now compare that with phones that reached India several months earlier. The Poco X8 Pro Max launched in March 2026. It recorded 2,595 in Geekbench single-core, 8,205 in multi-core and 21,169 in GPU testing. Its AnTuTu score reached 2,725,093.
That means the Poco had already been on the market for around six months when the Redmi Note 17 Pro Max arrived, yet its raw performance numbers are considerably higher. The Nothing Phone 4a Pro also launched in March 2026. It recorded 1,466,382 on AnTuTu, well above the Redmi’s 986,185.
Samsung’s Galaxy A37 followed around the same period, with the phone launching in India towards the end of March and going on sale in early April. It recorded 1,050,742 on AnTuTu. The Motorola Edge 70 Pro arrived in India in April 2026. Powered by the Dimensity 8500 Extreme, it scored 1,669 in Geekbench single-core, 5,508 in multi-core and 10,837 in GPU testing. Its AnTuTu score reached 1,868,482.
The OnePlus Nord 6 also launched in April 2026. It scored 2,073 in Geekbench single-core, 6,506 in multi-core and 13,661 in GPU testing. Its AnTuTu score reached 2,362,874.
The comparison is therefore not about older phones from several years ago. These are smartphones that had already launched earlier in the same year. That makes the performance gap more interesting.
The bigger issue is what happens across generations
A single benchmark comparison cannot establish a trend across the entire smartphone industry.
Different phones use different processors. Manufacturers also make different decisions around cooling, software optimisation, storage and power management. But the comparison does challenge a familiar assumption.
A smartphone launched later does not automatically deliver higher raw performance than a phone that arrived earlier. The question becomes even more important when we look at smartphones launched in 2025.
Several phones from the previous generation continue to offer performance that newer models struggle to match. That changes the traditional upgrade equation.
Consumers are no longer simply asking whether a new phone has a newer chipset. They are increasingly asking whether the new hardware actually delivers more performance than what was already available. And that question has arrived at an unusual time for the smartphone industry.
Component costs are changing the hardware equation
The smartphone market is currently dealing with one of its biggest component-cost shocks in years. Counterpoint Research says smartphone memory prices increased by more than 80% quarter-on-quarter in Q2 2026.
Its bill-of-materials analysis also found that the cost structure of 2026 smartphones has shifted significantly compared with equivalent models launched in 2025. The increase is substantial across different segments. For mid-range smartphones, Counterpoint estimates that BoM costs increased 52% year-on-year in Q2 2026. Memory accounted for around 40% of the overall BoM cost in this segment.
The premium segment is also under pressure. Its BoM cost increased nearly 50% year-on-year. More importantly, DRAM has overtaken the SoC to become the most expensive individual component in a premium smartphone. That changes how manufacturers have to allocate their hardware budgets.
A smartphone is not simply a processor, display and camera. Manufacturers have to pay for memory, storage, cameras, display panels, batteries, charging components, connectivity hardware and dozens of other components. When one part of that equation becomes significantly more expensive, something else may have to change.
Memory has become a major problem for smartphone makers
The memory shortage is particularly important because it is affecting the entire smartphone industry. Counterpoint says mobile memory prices have risen roughly fourfold since September 2025. It attributes the pressure largely to supply constraints, with AI data centres absorbing a large share of DRAM and NAND production.
Another Counterpoint analysis found that smartphone memory prices increased more than 300% year-on-year in Q2 2026. The research firm also said memory costs had surpassed SoC costs across smartphone segments. This creates a difficult situation for smartphone manufacturers. They can pass the entire increase to consumers. They can absorb some of the cost through lower margins. Or they can rethink the hardware configuration of their products.
Counterpoint’s BoM research suggests manufacturers are already doing the latter. It says superior processor and camera configurations are decreasing in the mid-range segment. It also points to more cost-optimised NAND solutions for high-capacity variants. That does not prove that a particular smartphone has been fitted with cheaper components. But it does show that manufacturers are actively adjusting hardware choices as component costs rise.
India is seeing the impact
India is an important part of this story because consumers are already facing higher smartphone prices. Counterpoint says smartphone prices in India rose 16% on average during the first half of 2026. India’s average smartphone selling price reached a record $318 in Q2.
The research firm attributed much of the increase to rising memory costs, while rupee depreciation also made imported components more expensive. The pressure is also affecting demand.
Counterpoint reported that India’s smartphone shipments fell 10% year-on-year in Q2 2026, marking the biggest decline for a June quarter in six years. It expects the full-year market to decline further as memory costs remain elevated. The research firm says memory prices are unlikely to normalise quickly.
That means manufacturers could continue facing pressure well into the next product cycles. For consumers, this creates an unusual situation. Phones are becoming more expensive to build, but that does not necessarily mean every part of the phone is getting better.
Are manufacturers making different trade-offs?
This is where the benchmark numbers need to be viewed carefully. A lower benchmark score does not prove that a manufacturer has used cheaper components.
It also does not automatically mean that a smartphone offers a worse overall experience. A manufacturer could spend more on a display, camera system, battery, design, connectivity or software instead.
It could also be absorbing higher memory costs while keeping the retail price within a range consumers will accept. That is why the more interesting question is not whether brands are simply cutting corners.
It is whether rising component costs are forcing manufacturers to become more selective about where they invest in hardware. The data suggests that this is already happening in some segments. And if the processor or camera configuration is one of the areas being optimised, benchmark performance could be one of the places where consumers notice the difference.
The smartphone upgrade cycle is changing
For years, the easiest way to explain a new smartphone was simple. It was newer, therefore it was faster. That explanation is becoming less reliable. The latest generation may bring better AI features, improved cameras, a different display, longer software support or a new design. But raw processing performance may not always move forward at the same pace.
This is particularly important when a newer smartphone is compared with a model launched just months earlier. The Redmi Note 17 Pro Max example does not prove that the entire industry is moving backwards. But it does highlight a change worth watching.
If component costs continue to rise, manufacturers will have to decide where every additional dollar spent on a smartphone should go. That could mean better cameras on one phone, better displays on another and stronger processors on a third. Consumers may therefore need to stop treating the launch date as a shortcut for judging performance. A newer smartphone can be newer without being faster. And as the cost of memory and other components continues to reshape smartphone bill-of-materials, that distinction could become increasingly important. The next phase of the smartphone market may not be about how much more manufacturers can put into every new phone. It could be about which parts they choose to improve, and which ones they decide are no longer worth upgrading.
