According to a report released by TrendForce,Mobile DRAM contract prices will continue to rise sharply in the second quarter of 2026, and the cost pressure on smartphone manufacturers will increase sharply. Among them, the average price of LPDDR4X increased by 70%-75% quarter-to-quarter, and the average price of LPDDR5X increased by 78%-83% quarter-to-quarter, continuing the strong growth in the first quarter.
The two major Korean suppliers have differentiated strategies. Samsung has made a large one-time price increase, while SK Hynix has made gradual price increases. The final pricing is expected to be completed in late May.
Memory price increases that have lasted for several quarters have had a significant impact on the mobile phone industry. Mobile phone brands have been forced to reduce smartphone production for 2026, and it is difficult to complete previously signed long-term purchases (LTA).
In addition, the memory specifications have also been completely reconstructed: high-end is mainly 12GB, and 16GB is reduced; mid-range returns to 8GB; low-end is mainly 4GB; 2GB/3GB models are gradually withdrawing from the market.
To alleviate cost pressures, mobile phone manufacturers are turning to software and system optimization, including coordinating apps to reduce memory usage and promoting more services to the cloud, so as to maintain operational resilience under the dual pressures of high costs and slowing demand.
