Samsung’s 100% RAM price hike on Apple means your next iPhone, Mac could get more expensive

The RAM crisis has now come for Apple, as the Cupertino tech giant has reportedly agreed to a massive 100% price hike on LPDDR5X memory from Samsung, and that only means costs may rise for your next iPhone or Mac purchase.

During negotiations with Samsung, one of the leading memory manufacturers, Apple secured a deal for LPDDR5X memory for its iPhone 17 and beyond for double the price it would normally pay, according to a report from Korean outlet DealSite. This was to ensure a stable supply for the first half of the year, but interestingly, it apparently could have been for a much lower price.

Samsung initially had a goal of raising costs by 60%, but first proposed a 100% raise. As it so happens, Apple immediately settled with the doubled cost, and the deal was made. This not only shows how precious consumer RAM is right now, considering Apple jumped on Samsung's first offer, but also how much costs may be set to rise.

Prepare for pricier Apple products

Apple may have had successful year-on-year growth, as announced in its earnings call, with CEO Tim Cook claiming the surge in memory prices had "minimal impact," but he went on to say he expects "a bit more of an impact" this year. That said, Cook stated the company "will look at a range of options to deal with that."

Despite this, Apple was desperate enough to secure supply at twice the cost. With tech companies scrambling to gather available RAM stock, it shows that Lenovo's warning on the RAM crisis spiking prices rings true.

"Samsung Electronics' DS division initially set a strategy with the goal of raising the price of LPDDR5X for Apple iPhones by about 60%," an official from the semiconductor industry states. "However, at the first negotiation table, we first proposed a 100% increase (in order to gather opinions on 60%), and Apple immediately accepted this, so the price was set as is. That's how much smartphone companies are working hard to secure memory inventory."

There's no telling how this will affect prices on Apple products in the future, whether we'll see a $100 price jump on upcoming iPhones, iPads, MacBooks and more, or if Apple will absorb the costs with these "range of options" it comes up with. The question is, will we see higher prices for what's coming during next week's Apple March event?

Not an immediate effect

With plenty of major announcements expected next week, including a low-cost MacBook with A18 Pro and iPhone 17e, there are concerns that prices on these products may be higher than expected, especially with this price hike in memory.

However, these devices aren't expected to receive a significant bump in price. With announcements happening as soon as March 2, Apple has surely settled on pricing for these products well before it agreed on paying double the amount for RAM.

That said, we've heard that Apple's entry-level MacBook may not be so cheap after all, and it's due to the memory crunch. We won't know until the company finally reveals its budget laptop, along with the rest of the devices tipped to be announced, but here's hoping prices are reasonable.

For now, it looks like the RAM crisis has claimed another victim, and only time will tell how prices on iPhones, Macs and more will look down the line.

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