A persistent memory chip shortage is severely impacting budget smartphone makers, making handsets under US$100 unprofitable to manufacture. Analysts predict a 400% surge in memory costs by Q3 2026, forcing major vendors to abandon this segment and pivot to mid-range products, driving up average retail prices.
India's smartphone market, the world's second-largest, sees a 10% year-over-year decline in shipments (Q2) due to rising memory chip costs driven by AI demand, impacting lower-end segments hardest.
Micron, a leading U.S. memory chip manufacturer, reported a significant surge in Q3 revenue and profit, leading to a 13% jump in shares. This strong performance occurs amidst a severe, AI-fueled memory chip shortage that is driving up prices for consumers, a concern highlighted by Apple CEO Tim Cook.
The AI boom is worsening a global memory chip shortage, which Samsung predicts will continue into 2027Samsung Electronics on Thursday reported record quarterly profit driven by a 49-fold jump in chip income, saying it expects a severe supply shortage to deepen next year as clients spend on AI, driving up prices of its memory chips.A boom in the construction of AI datacentres has spurred Samsung and chipmaking peers to allocate production capacity to advanced chips that Nvidia uses in its so-called AI accelerators. Even so, chipmakers are struggling to meet demand while the move also squeezes the supply of conventional chips. Continue reading...
