AI vs smartphones: How a global RAM shortage may drive up phone prices

A global memory shortage driven by the AI boom is pushing up RAM prices, prompting smartphone makers to raise prices across flagship, mid-range, and budget devices.

The global memory shortage is expected to have a significant impact on the smartphone industry in the coming months. (Express Photo)

By: Tech Desk

3 min readNew DelhiDec 17, 2025 09:05 AM IST First published on: Dec 16, 2025 at 03:55 PM IST

If you are planning to upgrade your smartphone, be prepared to spend more. The ongoing AI boom has caused a worldwide memory shortage, and it looks like phone makers may be passing on the rising cost to consumers.

While some phone manufacturers like Samsung and Oppo have already bumped up the price of select models by a significant amount, others are expected to follow suit. For example, the Oppo Reno 14 (review), a mid-range device that was launched earlier this year with 8GB RAM and a starting price tag of Rs 37,999, is currently selling on Amazon for Rs 39,999.

The recently launched 8GB variant of the Galaxy A17 (review) was initially selling for Rs 18,999. But now, the Samsung website indicates that this particular configuration is out of stock and is selling the 6GB RAM version for 19,499.

Rumour also had it that Apple might be planning to increase the price of the iPhone 17 series, but it looks like that may not happen soon, as the tech giant may have started manufacturing a few months prior to the global memory crunch.

Why is this happening?

From Google to OpenAI to Microsoft, all major tech giants are pouring billions of dollars into leasing computing power for their AI chatbots. Earlier this month, Micron – the third-largest RAM in the world after Samsung and SK Hynix, announced the shutdown of its consumer-centric brand.

The company said it took the decision because it wanted to focus more on AI companies, who are buying RAM and storage in bulk. Compared to consumer-grade memory and storage, the profit margin is much higher when it comes to enterprise-grade memory, also known as HBM.

RAM prices have already more than doubled in the last few months, and experts are saying that the global memory shortage may be here to stay for the next few years. Currently, the RAM market is in a tight spot, as memory makers like Samsung and SK Hynix are unable to make enough memory to meet the demands of these data centres.

Should I buy a smartphone right now?

While nothing is certain at the moment, chances are that RAM and storage prices may hit never-before-seen levels in the coming months. Right now, the best move may be to buy the smartphone you wanted, as the memory market is volatile at best. Next year, we may also see smartphone manufacturers launching mid-range and budget smartphones with just 8GB of RAM.
Francis Wong, the head of product marketing at Realme, has already said that the “price will only go up and up from 2026 onwards”.

Earlier this year, Himanshu Tandon, the Vice President of Business at CMF by Nothing, said that we may see an “immediate price hike in each segment for all brands on new production.” He added that the flagship phones may see a price bump of anywhere between 7 and 10 per cent, while mid-range and budget phones will be 6-8 per cent and 4-6 per cent more expensive.