Samsung’s Increased DRAM prices and the rise in NAND costs increased the costs of smartphone manufacturers through 2026. Information revealed in July, Samsung’s third quarter DRAM prices up to 20 percent increase He showed what he wanted. However, more recent data indicate that the company has not been able to get its customers to accept the full increase it initially targeted on the mobile DRAM side. The rise in memory costs seems to have already been reflected in phone prices.
July data on Samsung’s third-quarter price negotiations showed that the company wanted up to a 20 percent increase on some DRAM products. Moreover, the initial expectations on the LPDDR side pointed to an increase that could exceed 20 percent. August data showed that Samsung turned to a more limited price change in the third quarter, following the strong increase in the second quarter. Accordingly, the company increased mobile DRAM prices by mid-single digits in the third quarter.
When you look at the overall market, 8 to 13 percent increase in mobile DRAM prices appears before you. While memory manufacturers allocate more production capacity to server and HBM products, phone manufacturers are faced with more expensive mobile memories. August research on the mobile DRAM market shows that price increases in the third quarter continue to impact phone makers’ cost calculations. Especially models offering high memory capacity take a larger share of this cost item.
On the NAND side, prices continued their rise in the first part of the year, but the rate of increase slowed down in the second half. Estimates at the beginning of July, third quarter overall NAND Flash contract prices will increase by 10 to 15 percent He predicted. However, the decrease in demand by phone manufacturers has limited the power of suppliers to raise prices on eMMC and UFS storage products. NAND market data from September indicates that contract prices will remain flat in the fourth quarter.
Memory costs push up smartphone prices
Although DRAM and NAND undertake different tasks, they both have a direct place in the cost calculation of the phone. DRAM provides the fast memory needed by applications running the operating system, while NAND stores photos, videos, applications and other files. Samsung also lists DRAM and NAND technologies as the basic elements of its memory products on its Türkiye pages. Therefore, you can see the effect of price changes more clearly on phones that offer 12 GB or 16 GB RAM and 256 GB or 512 GB storage.
Moreover, in the second quarter of 2026 smartphone memory prices increased by more than 80 percent compared to the previous quarter. Data examining component costs of smartphones shows that in premium phones, DRAM has surpassed the processor and become the single most expensive component. Entry-level phones also could not escape the cost increase. While the component cost of similarly equipped entry-level models increased by 70 percent annually, the increase in the middle segment reached 52 percent.
While the component cost increase in the premium segment is approaching 50 percent, manufacturers are trying to control costs with different hardware options. These options include lower storage capacity, simplified camera systems, and 4G models in some markets, especially in the entry and mid-range segments. Thus, the increase in memory costs is not only visible on the phone’s sales tag. You may also encounter differences in RAM, storage, camera hardware and connectivity options during the purchasing phase.
Price data makes it clear that the memory boom has reached the retail market. According to global smartphone price research published in early September, the average retail price of phones on sale through 2026 increased by 15 percent. Moreover, the new models released in 2026 will be on average lower than their counterparts last year. 25 percent more expensive reached the level. The research noted price increases in more than 40 percent of the phone models it tracked during the year.
Rising prices also change consumers’ purchasing preferences. Data shows that some users are postponing phone replacement, switching to lower storage options or considering refurbished devices. However, recent developments on the NAND side indicate that the cost increase may slow down in the last part of the year. The fact that the second wave of price increases by phone manufacturers weakened demand contributes to the horizontal course of NAND contract prices in the fourth quarter.
On the DRAM side, supply pressure may continue for a longer time. As AI servers demand large amounts of DRAM capacity, memory manufacturers are dedicating more production resources to HBM and server products. DRAM market outlook in September shows the difference between supply and demand It may last through 2027 points out. Samsung’s keeping the mobile DRAM price increase in the third quarter below previous expectations limits the short-term price pressure to a certain extent.
Therefore, DRAM and NAND prices in the phone market may move in two different directions. While weakening phone demand on the NAND side curbs the price increase in the last quarter of the year, server and HBM demand on the DRAM side puts pressure on production capacity. Samsung’s price decisions also have a place in the cost calculations of phone manufacturers due to the company’s position in the memory market. occurring through 2026 15 percent average phone price increase and new models 25 percent differencecoincides with the rise in memory costs.