RAM inflation could mean higher smartphone prices

We might be in for inflated smartphone prices in the near future. A report released today says that smartphone manufacturers like Xiaomi and OPPO are feeling the squeeze as makers of RAM and storage for smartphones are allocating more manufacturing capacity to clients building data centers. This increased demand for memory components is resulting in higher costs for manufacturers — and you know what that means.

As reported by Jiemian News (via @Jukanlosreve on Twitter), smartphone manufacturers including Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo have suspended purchasing memory from suppliers like Samsung and Micron as those suppliers have increased prices drastically in recent months. Jiemian reports that a representative for an unnamed Chinese smartphone manufacturer told the publication their firm is now facing the prospect of either lowering specifications on new devices or increasing prices for customers.

The recent spike in memory costs is driven by a few factors, the report says. For one, servers in newly constructed data centers need RAM. The companies that manufacture RAM chips have limited capacity, and increased demand for a finite good naturally leads to higher prices. To make matters worse, server makers are seemingly more willing than smartphone manufacturers to pay higher prices: The report claims that distributors quote clients building servers prices that can be 30% (or more) higher than what they’d offer smartphone manufacturers.

Additionally, the report claims that manufacturers including Micron, Samsung, and Kioxia have all started producing less NAND flash memory in a bid to increase storage prices. An unnamed source in the report says he believes memory prices will only continue to rise in the first half of 2026.

While the report focuses on a handful of Chinese smartphone makers, this issue isn’t isolated to China. Manufacturers from Vivo to Samsung to Apple are all tapped into the same global supply chains, and factors that raise costs for any of them are likely to raise costs for all of them.

RAM and storage aren’t an insignificant part of a smartphone’s bill of materials, and with memory manufacturers increasing prices across the board, it’s only a matter of time until smartphone manufacturers pass those increased costs along to customers. Assuming demand for AI infrastructure stays consistent, phones (and other tech) might be getting more expensive soon.