Apple has agreed to pay double the cost for Samsung’s LPDDR5X memory chips required for the ongoing iPhone 17 production.
According to a report from the Korean outlet Dealsite, Apple recently held emergency meetings with Samsung’s semiconductor division to negotiate RAM delivery volumes for the first half of this year. The 12GB LPDDR5X modules used in the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro have already roughly doubled in price since early 2025.
Reportedly, Samsung originally planned to push for a 60 per cent price increase on the LPDDR5X modules that were supplied to Apple. However, Samsung instead opened with a 100 per cent markup as a negotiating tactic, and Apple apparently accepted it on the spot.
While it seems odd for Apple to panic-buy RAM chips at such a high markup, it does go to show how the RAM shortage is affecting even the top manufacturers in the smartphone business. As MacRumors pointed out, chipmakers like SK Hynix and Micron have been redirecting production capacity towards high-bandwidth memory for AI servers, leaving RAM meant for mobile phones in really short supply.
Interestingly, Samsung itself isn’t immune to the ongoing shortage either. The report also says that initial Galaxy S26 production uses a split of LPDDR5X between its semiconductor division and Micron. As expected, both suppliers are reported to be steeply increasing prices after the first batch of chips.
Samsung raised prices on the Galaxy S26 series in many markets, though in Canada, it offered a small price cut. The base 256GB storage model for the S26, S26+ and S26 Ultra costs less than the equivalent S25 model (e.g. the S26 Ultra is $1,899.99 while the S25 Ultra was $1,918.99). However, Samsung also eliminated the lower-cost 128GB variant and raised the prices of the higher 512GB and 1TB storage tiers.
