DRAM has soared by more than 500% since 25 years, and Samsung/Micron/Dell/Apple have followed suit

DRAM prices have soared by over 500% since 2025, prompting price increases at Samsung, Micron, Dell, Apple, and other companies.

The AI-driven siphoning effect on HBM capacity has further reduced DRAM output, making 2026 set to be the "most expensive year for device upgrades."

By the end of 2025, the global electronics industry is experiencing a "memory tsunami" triggered by surging demand for AI computing power. Since 2025, DRAM prices have been on a steady upward spiral,

with some products seeing price hikes of more than 500%.

This has not only driven up the prices of end - products such as PCs and mobile phones across the board but also pushed the consumer electronics market in 2026 into the rare predicament of "declining shipment volumes amid rising prices."

Behind this price surge lies the "siphoning effect" of AI giants on high - end memory capacity, as well as a passive adjustment of the consumer electronics industry chain in the era of "computing power first."

I. The Soaring Memory Prices: The Competition for Capacity Between AI and Consumer Electronics Behind the 500% Hike

1. Price Surge: From "Moderate Increase" to "Uncontrolled Soaring"

    
   Since 2025, DRAM prices have shown an "exponential" upward trend. According to data from Counterpoint Research, in the fourth quarter of 2025,

    

2. the contract price of mobile DRAM (LPDDR series for mobile phones) increased by approximately 300% compared with the same period in 2024.

3. Meanwhile, the price of High - Bandwidth Memory (HBM) used in AI servers has soared even more sharply, with some high - end products seeing price increases of over 500%.

4. This upward trend is expected to continue into 2026. Industry forecasts suggest that memory chip prices will have room to rise by another 40% before the second quarter of 2026.

5. Demand Side: AI Servers "Devour" High - end Memory Capacity

    
   The AI boom has made HBM highly sought - after. By leveraging 3D stacking technology, HBM achieves a bandwidth far exceeding that of traditional memory (about three times that of DDR5),

    

6. and it is a "standard configuration" for AI accelerator cards such as NVIDIA's H100 and H200. Training a large language model like GPT - 4 requires thousands of AI accelerator cards, each equipped with 16 - 32GB of HBM,

7. leading to a "geometric" growth in HBM demand. TrendForce predicts that in 2026, AI servers will account for over 70% of the total HBM output.

8. Supply Side: Consumer - Grade Memory "Squeezed Out" as Capacity Shifts to AI

    
   The global DRAM market is dominated by an oligopoly (Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron collectively hold over 95% of the market share), and their capacity decisions directly determine market supply.

    

9. Attracted by the high profits of AI servers (HBM is priced 5 - 10 times higher than mobile DRAM), the three giants have shifted their production capacity to HBM one after another:

• Samsung Electronics plans to double its HBM production capacity in 2024 to prioritize AI customers.
• SK Hynix has gone "all in" on HBM, allocating its most advanced production lines to HBM manufacturing.
• Micron Technology is accelerating its catch - up and expanding HBM3E production capacity.

With limited wafer capacity, like a "fixed cake," the more capacity allocated to AI, the less will be left for consumer electronics such as mobile phones and PCs.

Consequently, the supply of mobile DRAM (LPDDR series) has fallen into a state of "shortage," and prices have surged accordingly.

II. Price Transmission: From Memory to End - Products, Consumers Will Bear the Brunt in 2026

1. PC Manufacturers: Take the Lead in Price Hikes, with Increases Likely to Exceed 50% in 2026
    
   PCs are major consumers of memory, with memory accounting for about 15% - 18% of the total cost of a laptop.
2. The rising memory prices have directly pushed up the manufacturing costs of PCs. In December 2025, Dell took the lead in announcing price increases for commercial computers, with a range of 10% - 30%.
3. Models with 32GB of memory saw a price increase of $130 - $230 per unit, while the top - of - the - line 128GB models had an even steeper price hike of $520 - $765.

Other manufacturers such as Lenovo, Acer, and ASUS have followed suit. Lenovo's CFO stated that the company will dynamically adjust product pricing based on memory costs in 2026.

Acer confirmed that prices in the first quarter of 2026 will be higher than those in the fourth quarter of 2025. An ASUS executive said, "We will adjust our product mix and pricing according to market dynamics."

2. Mobile Phone Manufacturers: "Falling Shipment Volumes and Rising Prices," 2026 May Be the "Most Expensive Year for Mobile Phone Upgrades"
    
   The "smooth performance" of mobile phones relies on memory (LPDDR series), and the AI wave has sharply increased the "cost pressure" on mobile phone memory.
3. Counterpoint predicts that in 2026, global smartphone shipments will decline by 2.1% (reversing the 3.3% growth in 2024), while the average selling price will rise by 6.9%.

This rare situation of "falling shipment volumes and rising prices" stems from the "supply shortage" of mobile phone memory. Manufacturers like Samsung and SK Hynix have shifted their capacity to HBM,

resulting in a tight supply of LPDDR4/LPDDR5 for mobile phones. To cope with