The RAM price crisis shows no signs of stopping anytime soon, and the latest warning of rising costs in devices like phones, laptops, consoles, and more now comes from Samsung.
According to analyst Jukan on X, Samsung has now raised the contract price of its DDR5 RAM by more than 100%, increasing the cost to $19.50 per unit. Earlier this year, the price was around $7, making this a massive spike.
Taiwanese media: DRAM price surge shows no signs of stoppingAccording to reports from Taiwanese media, Samsung has abruptly raised the DDR5 contract price to $19.50, bringing it close to $20.This figure represents an increase of more than 100% compared to the previous…December 15, 2025
As per Taiwanese reports, Samsung has told its customers (OEMs) that there is simply "no stock" available, hence the rise in price. Not only does this mean that manufacturers will have to pay more for the RAM they need, but this will likely cause a knock-on effect to consumers, meaning higher prices for phones, laptops and more in 2026.
Along with SK Hynix and Micron, Samsung is among the biggest manufacturers of DRAM. And now, with Micron moving to AI data centers over RAM, companies have no choice but to put up with the rising price of RAM for their upcoming devices. Unfortunately, this means consumers will inevitably see a rise in prices.
No escaping the price hike
It's already been expected that RAMageddon would see prices skyrocket for smartphones and laptops, with market analyst site TrendForce even stating that companies like Apple and Samsung will likely raise prices while reducing RAM capacity. So far, it appears the latter has proven true.
As the report notes: “Rising memory costs will compel [Samsung] to raise the launch prices of new models in 2026." That includes the rumored Samsung Galaxy S26 and possibly even the Galaxy Z TriFold set arrive in the first quarter of 2026.
Samsung's customers are also preparing for cost increases, with Lenovo and Dell tipped to raise prices on their laptops and PCs. What's more, with Samsung's RAM cost surge, there's a stronger change that laptop manufacturers will put the bare minimum amount of RAM, making 16GB become high-end and 8GB reserved for mid-range and budget models.
Of course, there's no telling how much we can expect the price of next year's devices to rise, but considering how Samsung has nearly doubled the cost of its dwindling stock of RAM, it's a strong sign of the prices we can expect on phones, tablets, laptops and more.
For the latest updates on RAMageddon, we've got you covered.
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