{"id":448003,"date":"2026-02-27T06:01:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T06:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/448003\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T06:01:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T06:01:09","slug":"dram-shortage-will-cause-seismic-shift-in-smartphone-market-but-apple-will-be-less-affected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/448003\/","title":{"rendered":"DRAM Shortage Will Cause ‘Seismic Shift’ in Smartphone Market, But Apple Will Be Less Affected"},"content":{"rendered":"

Global memory scarcity will cause a 13 percent drop in smartphone sales in 2026, according to IDC (via Bloomberg<\/a>). DRAM is in short supply because AI companies are buying huge quantities of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for servers in data centers, and manufacturers are prioritizing HBM instead of the memory used in consumer devices.<\/p>\n

\"iphone
IDC says that the global memory supply has been drained into next year, putting smartphone makers in a tough spot. Prices have spiked because there’s not enough memory to meet production needs, which will cause a smartphone market “crisis like no other.”<\/p>\n

Smartphone makers are expected to ship 1.1 billion devices in 2026, down from 1.26 billion in 2025.<\/p>\n

“The tariffs and pandemic crisis seem a joke compared to this,” said IDC Senior Research Director Nabila Popal. “The smartphone market will witness a seismic shift by the time this crisis is over — in size, average selling prices and competitive landscape. We don’t expect the situation to ease up until mid-2027, at least.”<\/p>\n

Cheap Android smartphones will be impacted most heavily by increasing DRAM costs, but Apple is well-positioned to avoid major impact because it focuses on more expensive, premium devices. Apple has more profit margin to work with and is better able to secure available DRAM supply.<\/p>\n

Apple is expected to absorb higher memory costs<\/a> in the short term, but it isn’t unaffected by the shortages. Just today, a report suggested Apple is paying Samsung twice as much<\/a> for the LPDDR5X memory chips that it needs for producing iPhone 17<\/a> models.<\/p>\n

During Apple’s January earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook<\/a> said that memory price increases had a “minimal impact” on Apple’s gross margin during the 2025 holiday quarter, but the company is expecting a “bit more of an impact” during the first calendar quarter of 2026.<\/p>\n

IDC says that even when the DRAM shortage is resolved, memory prices are not expected to return to 2025 levels, so there could be a permanent shift toward higher-priced smartphones.<\/p>\n

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