Apple faces pressure as Samsung hikes up DRAM prices | Infinium-tech

The AI ​​industry’s insatiable appetite for memory chips is causing DRAM prices to skyrocket, and it’s poised to make the new technology more expensive in 2026. This also means that consumers will have to shell out even more money for new devices and even the world’s largest smartphone maker – Apple – will have to pay.

According to a report from South Korea, Samsung has increased the price of its LPDDR DRAM chips by 80% compared to the price charged by Apple in Q4,2025. The report, which comes from industry sources, claims that another major DRAM maker SK Hynix has increased its DRAM pricing by a whopping 100%.

Historically, Apple has been able to absorb component price increases through long-term agreements with major suppliers, but it looks like that won’t be the case this time. According to the new report, Apple has signed a deal with Samsung that will only cover DRAM unit prices for the first half of the year.

This almost certainly means that the upcoming iPhone 18 series and other new Apple devices will come with a higher price tag. However, there is some hope according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo confident Apple will still bear rising component costs and keep its iPhone pricing under control as it aims to grow its market share.

Source (in Korean)