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Samsung sees rising memory chip prices as global concern
JB Park, Samsung Southwest Asia president and CEO, said rising memory chip prices are a global issue affecting the industry.
He acknowledged that shortages could persist until 2027 due to strong AI data centre demand.
Park said the surge in AI demand has tied up most supply in its fab and that shortages affect DRAM, HBM, and NAND.
He noted the shortage is lifting prices and causing stock shortages for budget phones, laptops, LED televisions, and other appliances.
Park said Samsung will prioritise supplying abundant memory chips for the Indian market and manufacture the Galaxy S26 series at its Noida plant, with R&D support from its Bengaluru centre.
The company will respond flexibly to market changes and adjust product strategy to manage supply risks.
🔗 Source: The Economic Times
🧠 Food for thought
Implications, context, and why it matters.
This isnt a typical shortage IDC and others frame it as a structural market shift
- Samsung’s remarks suggest a longer-lasting change in how the memory chip market works, not a normal downturn 1.
- JB Park, Samsung Southwest Asia president and CEO, said booming AI data centre demand has absorbed most output from Samsung’s fabs, tightening supply for DRAM, High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), and NAND 1.
- AI data centers are pulling the top three suppliers, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology, toward high-margin HBM and away from memory used in consumer devices 1.
- Those three firms make over 90% of the world’s memory chips, so their production choices ripple across the industry 2.
- TrendForce, as cited by Rest of World, expects first-quarter price jumps of 90%95% for DRAM and 55%60% for NAND flash 2.
- Factory capacity forces trade-offs. A wafer used for HBM in an AI accelerator (a chip used to speed up AI workloads in data centers) cannot go to a phone or laptop 1.
The era of cheaper, better tech is on pause
- Rising memory costs are slowing the past decade’s pattern of bringing high-end specs into affordable smartphones 1.
- PC vendors are already talking about 1520% price increases, while 2026 flagship phones may ship without RAM bumps such as Pro models staying at 12GB instead of moving to 16GB 1.
- Park said shortages are already hitting budget phones, laptops, LED televisions, and other appliances as memory prices climb.
- Low-end devices face the hardest squeeze. Some budget smartphones could become economically unsustainable and exit the market 2.
- IDC says Apple and Samsung are better insulated through cash reserves and long-term supply agreements, which can lock in memory 1224 months ahead and shift share away from smaller brands that cannot secure parts 1.
