… In a March 10 report from analysts at TrendForce, the surging memory prices will push up the retail costs of notebooks by a considerable amount. To preserve existing profit margin structures, the cost of a typical notebook will go up by as much as 40%. …
… Counterpoint Research reported earlier this month that the bill of materials BoM for a sub-$200 6GB RAM/128GB storage Android phone now costs 25% more than in Q4 2025. In fact, it projects that RAM will account for 43% of the total component costs. …
… That’s a dramatic increase, and one that will force manufacturers to either cut elsewhere or pass costs on to consumers. Rising RAM costs are hurting budget phones the most, but flagships aren't immune. …
… 2026 will be a challenging year with ongoing geopolitical uncertainties and profitability impacted by rising cost pressures across the industry. …
… The Snapdragon Wear Elite will reportedly power the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 By skipping the 5G modem, Samsung will be able to offer a cheaper version of the watch – this may have become necessary after rising RAM and storage costs pushed the company to increase phone prices . …
… While it's common to see Apple's iPhone series and the lower-cost Galaxy A phones top these sales lists, Counterpoint notes that the higher cost of phone components is likely putting more pressure on Android phone makers. …
… Geopolitical Factors Further Complicate Components Manufacturing and Shipping Though their impact on RAM costs isn’t as significant as the AI industry’s, President Trump’s tariffs and escalating global tensions have certainly exacerbated soaring RAM costs. …
… R&D and production costs are very high, alongside a price tag that makes it unattainable to the majority of consumers." As well as the cost to consumers, the analyst also noted that Samsung was likely concerned about margin pressures due to surging storage and memory costs. …
… It also gets the same Snapdragon 750G as the S52, but there's just 4GB of RAM. This phone will be $399.99, but Verizon will no doubt have promotions. The A02s will cost just over a hundred bucks, and it's not crippled with Android Go Edition software. …
… Looking at the current DRAM crisis , which has also affected storage costs, this wasn’t the best of decisions as iPhone margins are being adversely affected, with Apple now estimated to pay $70 per LPDDR5X RAM chip. …