SAMSUNG: RAM MEMORY CRISIS DEEPENS

The semiconductor market is back on the curve. Major RAM manufacturers Samsung and SK Hynix have officially confirmed what the industry has been saying for months: the rising prices of RAM dice are just the beginning, and the market may remain in crisis for up to another three years. If the Koreans’ forecasts come true, we won’t see stabilization until 2027 at the earliest, while full market saturation won’t occur until 2028.

This is the bleakest scenario since the pandemic – and it comes at a time when AI-driven demand is hitting historic highs.

Manufacturers are halting investments. They want to avoid oversupply

According to the findings of the Hankyung website, both Samsung and SK Hynix are changing their strategy. Companies do not intend to sharply increase production because they fear a repeat of 2017-2019, when the market was flooded by an oversupply of memory. Samsung is already realizing only approx. 70% of orders, as confirmed earlier by leaker Moore’s Law Is Dead. The rest have to wait – often for months. Added to this is the reluctance of producers to sign multi-year contracts because… they expect further price increases.

SK Hynix is following a similar path:

It is betting on short-term contracts, allocating as much as 30% of revenue to investments and shifting 50% of capacity to newer 1c modules.

Still, the company outright admits that it will not be able to keep up with demand driven by the AI boom.

Situation tense to the point that Samsung… refused to supply its own mobile division

According to Korean sources, Samsung Electronics has refused to sign a long-term contract with Samsung Mobile for memory supplies. There has never been such a situation in the industry before. This shows how dramatic the RAM market is today – even within a single corporation.

Prices are already rising – and this is just the beginning. It will be felt by gamers, smartphone users and the industry as a whole

The RAM bone price increases we have seen in recent weeks are just the tip of the iceberg. According to leaks and analysts:

• graphics cards may lose budget models (NVIDIA and AMD are cutting plans),
• Microsoft is preparing console price hikes,
• New smartphones will be more expensive due to increases in component costs,
• Laptop and PC manufacturers plan price adjustments in 2026 and 2027.

Low-cost computer or smartphone upgrades… are becoming a thing of the past.

Next-generation consoles may be delayed

SK Hynix predicts that the memory market may not recover until 2027 at the earliest, and realistically not until 2028. This clashes with the planned launches of the PlayStation 6 and Xbox Magnus, which were scheduled to hit the market just around 2027. If RAM manufacturers do not increase availability, the next-gen launch may be delayed – and the current generation extended by a year or two.

What does this mean for consumers?

• RAM prices will rise further – especially DDR5.
• PC upgrades will be noticeably more expensive than in previous years.
• Premium smartphones will become more expensive because manufacturers will not be able to maintain their current margins.
• AI will devour most of the available modules, exacerbating the shortage in the consumer market.

If nothing changes, the next two to three years will be one of the most difficult periods for the memory market in a decade.