AI Fuels Memory Chip Price Surge: Smartphones to Cost More Soon

• Global memory chip prices are rapidly increasing, entering a "Hyper Bull" phase, driven primarily by high demand from Artificial Intelligence.
• Counterpoint Research predicts memory prices to jump 40-50% in Q4 2025, another 40-50% in Q1 2026, and 20% in Q2 2026.
• The cost of memory in flagship phones has risen significantly, from 8% of parts cost for iPhone 12 Pro Max (2020) to over 20% for some high-end devices today.
• Suppliers like Samsung and SK hynix are shifting production to higher-profit DDR5 server memory, reducing availability of cheaper LPDDR4 and eMMC for consumer devices.
• Despite planned production capacity increases in 2026, supply is expected to lag demand, ensuring continued price hikes for memory chips.

Why It Matters: AI-driven demand for memory chips is causing unprecedented price hikes, making consumer electronics more expensive.