The soaring prices of DRAM and NAND memory are eating into the margins, with the bill of materials for a flagship phone predicted to rise by $100-$150. Memory makes up the most with 23% of the total going towards RAM and 18% towards storage.
Speculations on what the Steam Deck 2 might be like have been put on pause - people are now more focused on what is going on with the current generation Steam Deck - it is out of stock in several regions. Valve hasn't come out with an official statement yet, but last night the Steam stores in the US and Canada started showing all three variants of the Deck as "Out of Stock".
On the surface, this may look like a relentless acceleration, but RBC's analysis suggests these growth numbers are being flattered by an unusual culprit: runaway memory prices. The RBC analysts found that soaring prices for data center memory chips - including DRAM, high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and NAND flash - could account for about 45% of the dollar growth in cloud capital expenditures for 2026.
(Bloomberg/Ryan Vlastelica) Soaring prices for memory and storage components have turned companies like Sandisk Corp., Micron Technology Inc. and Western Digital Corp. into the hottest stocks in the market over the past year. But they're causing headaches for many of their customers. Hardware companies from Apple Inc. to HP Inc. are under pressure, as their need for expensive memory components becomes an investing risk one that isn't expected to reverse anytime soon. They're in a tough position, said Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital, which has $9.1 billion in assets and runs an exchange-traded fund dedicated to AI infrastructure.
Co-CEO of Samsung's mobile division, TM Roh, spoke to the media at the CES 2026 trade show, saying "We're facing one of the harshest pricing situations in memory" and warning that "smartphone price adjustments may be necessary". Samsung is working with other companies in its supply chain to try and deal with the situation in the long term as all kinds of electronics are affected by this - notably smartphones, but also TVs and other smart devices.
Memory prices are set to spike again as chipmakers prioritize AI server production over consumer devices, with analysts warning of a high double-digit jump in Q1 2026 alone as demand outpaces supply. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are reportedly planning to raise server memory prices by up to 70 percent this quarter, according to Korea Economic Daily. Combined with 50 percent increases in 2025, this could nearly double prices by mid-2026.
Counterpoint Research has revised down its 2026 smartphone shipment forecast to a 2.1 percent decline, citing a tightening supply of memory chips that is driving up costs and squeezing manufacturers. The analyst firm says higher DRAM and NAND prices risk undermining confidence across the market, particularly as smartphone vendors struggle to justify higher prices for devices that to many feel marginally different from the ones already in their pockets.
