Smartphone prices will rise due to a 70-100% surge in DRAM and NAND prices.

Smartphones to Become More Expensive Due to Explosive 70-100% Price Increase for DRAM and NAND

The smartphone industry, of course, has also faced an unprecedented increase in component costs. Prices for mobile dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) have surged by more than 70%, and for flash memory (NAND) by a substantial 100% compared to last year. This will naturally be followed by an increase in smartphone prices themselves. If memory previously accounted for about 10-15% of the total cost of materials for a smartphone, in 2026 this figure exceeded 20%.

The main reason is, again, the artificial intelligence boom. Giants like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have shifted their main production capacity to manufacturing high-speed HBM memory for NVIDIA's AI servers. Conventional memory for smartphones and PCs is now produced on a residual basis, creating a severe shortage.