Memory chip crunch set to drive up smartphone prices
By AFP
November 20, 2025
While AI-led demand is surging, chip-makers are also winding back spending on capacity, which is keeping prices elevated - Copyright AFP STR
Katie Forster
Shoppers could face higher prices for phones, laptops and other gadgets next year, manufacturers and analysts warn, as AI data centres hoover up memory chips used in consumer electronics.
The world’s biggest tech companies are ploughing head-spinningly huge sums into building the hardware that powers artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT.
Their insatiable demand is snarling up a supply chain kept tight on purpose by chipmakers who are keen to avoid price drops that dent profits, experts say.
In 2026, supply chain pressure for memory chips “will be far greater than this year”, Lu Weibing, president of Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi, said this week.
“Everyone will likely observe that retail prices for products will see a significant increase,” he told an earnings call.
William Keating, head of semiconductor and tech consulting firm Ingenuity, expects the same.
“All companies that manufacture PCs, smartphones, servers etc will be impacted by the shortage,” Keating told AFP.
“End result: consumers will pay more.”
In high demand are key chips known as DRAM and storage components called NAND, which are found in everyday gadgets but are also needed to help process the vast amounts of data crunched by generative AI.
That’s driving up memory chip prices, which in turn is turbocharging revenue for the firms that produce them such as South Korea’s Samsung and SK hynix, and Micron and SanDisk in the United States.
“AI-related server demand keeps growing, and this demand significantly exceeds industry supply,” Kim Jae-june of Samsung Electronics said last month.
– ‘Keep prices high’ –
Samsung said Sunday that it plans to build a new semiconductor plant in South Korea to meet the soaring demand, while SK hynix recently reported its best-ever quarterly performance, “driven by the full-scale rise in prices of DRAM and NAND”.
Industry analysts TrendForce have lowered their 2026 global production forecasts for smartphones and notebook laptops.
“The memory industry has begun a robust upward pricing cycle,” which “forces downstream brands to hike retail prices,” TrendForce said.
Cars may also be affected, although Keating noted that a smaller portion of their tech relies on memory chips.
Last week China’s largest contract chipmaker SMIC said customers were hesitant to place orders owing to uncertainty over how many phones, cars, or other products the memory chip industry can supply.
The cause of the shortage is two-fold.
AI-driven demand is greater than anticipated, but memory chip makers have also been “drastically cutting” spending on expanding capacity in recent years, Keating explained.
“Keep capacity tight, keep prices high is basically their mantra,” he said.
“They’ve done this deliberately to ensure that there’s no repeat of the most recent memory price collapse, which cost the memory makers tens of billions in losses.”
Price jumps for memory chips “are huge and the trend is continuing”, said Stephen Wu, founder of the Carthage Capital investment fund.
“Consumers and enterprises should expect higher memory prices, longer lead times, and more take-or-pay contracts through at least early 2026,” Wu said.
burs-kaf/dan
Smartphone sharing demands a new approach to cybersecurity
Does your partner know the password to your phone? Probably. A study by Griffith University researchers reveals that 70 per cent of Australians share access to their phone with their partner, despite dominant cybersecurity guidelines
image:
70% share access
view moreCredit: ACCAN
A study by Griffith University researchers reveals that 70 per cent of Australians share access to their phone with their partner, despite dominant cybersecurity guidelines advising the opposite.
Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Molly Dragiewicz, who led the study with Dr Jeffrey Ackerman and research assistant Marianne Haaland, said the most common reasons for smartphone sharing were positive, but that does not guard against negative impacts.
“People usually share for convenience, out of trust, and to help each other,” Professor Dragiewicz said.
“However, if one partner turns out to be abusive later on, shared access can be dangerous.”
In fact, 20 per cent of identity theft perpetrators identified by Australian police are current or former intimate partners or individuals related to an ex-partner.
In addition, technology-facilitated abuse is a common component of coercive control.
The report’s findings show that younger people are more likely to share, suggesting this is a growing issue.
Professor Dragiewicz argues that the one-user/one-device threat model created for commercial and government contexts is inadequate for addressing interpersonal cybersecurity risks.
Phone and app design can help to reduce the risks by using Safety by Design, as recommended by the Australia’s eSafety Commissioner.
“Cybersecurity advice and design based on not sharing your device or credentials are a really bad fit with how people actually use their phone.
The first step in Safety by Design is understanding how technology is used in real life,” Professor Dragiewicz said.
The study was made possible by a grant from the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN).
Method of Research
Survey
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
SMARTPHONESHARING WITH INTIMATE PARTNERS: Implications for telecommunications consumer cybersecurity
Article Publication Date
18-Nov-2025
85% past year sharing with partner
Privacy behaviours bar chart
Most people lock their phones
I trust him wth my life
Credit
ACCAN
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