Smartphone Prices Are Set to Rise as Memory Costs Surge
Consumers thinking of waiting for year-end sales to buy a new smartphone, tablet, or computer may end up paying more. The tech industry is facing an unprecedented jump in memory-chip prices, driven not by greed but by a global supply-chain shift fueled by the artificial intelligence boom. The result, the article says, is that higher hardware costs are likely to be passed directly to buyers.
Karl Pei, CEO and founder of Nothing, highlighted the problem in a post on X, saying, “The best time to buy a device was yesterday, and the next best time is now.” He said RAM has become the most expensive component in a device, costing more than the processor and screen combined, and now accounts for more than half of a phone’s total hardware cost at the factory. Pei said that during the development and launch of Nothing’s midrange Phone (4a) Pro, memory prices doubled and then doubled again.
The pressure is affecting the whole Android ecosystem, including major brands in the United States, Europe, and China. Reports from around the world say devices launched since February have price tags up to $100 higher than comparable models from last year. In some cases, manufacturers kept prices steady only because they had stocked up on older components, which can mean using memory technology one or two generations behind.
The main driver is the push to run advanced AI features directly on devices. That requires huge amounts of memory, 12GB, 16GB, and even 24GB, not only in premium phones but also in midrange models. Chinese makers such as Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, which rely on aggressive pricing and thin margins, now face a choice between sharp price hikes and damaged profitability. Apple is also under pressure, having increased memory capacities in its newest devices to support its AI system. For Israeli consumers, the article says, higher base prices are likely to be felt directly, and holiday or shopping-day discounts will not offset the rise.
