The shortage of DRAM is clearly going to continue through 2026 (thanks, AI Boom), and it’s forcing the hands of many brands to bring back, or rather, recycle older technologies at this point. For smartphone makers, bringing back microSD card slots may not be enough; they may have to resort to making 4GB RAM smartphones.
As per a TrendForce report, memory prices are expected to continue to rise again during the first quarter of 2026, thus putting a “significant cost pressure on global end-device manufacturers”. Mind you, this issue obviously isn’t limited to just the mobile product sector, with brands in the PC sector also suffering from the price hike.
Case in point, the soaring cost of computer memory, where a 64GB DDR5 kit currently cost as much as an RTX 5070 or a Sony PS5. Thinking of getting more than that, say, a 256GB kit? Be prepared to fork out more than the price of an RTX 5090.
The only “saving grace” of this return of the 4GB RAM smartphones, if you could even call it that, is that smartphone makers will be targeting devices in the mid-to-low end segments. Feels a little like shooting themselves in the foot, but again, tough times are here. For higher end and premium smartphone models, it’s unlikely that they’ll be any significant increases in their RAM capacities – most premium tier phone already carry anywhere between 12GB and 16GB on average, and increasing the capacity will obviously increase the price tag.
Shifting A Few Things Here And There
The memory crisis is basically causing brands to make a couple of adjustments, some shifts here and there if you will, in order to adapt to the market trend. For the smartphone makers, not only are they resorting to bringing back lower capacity RAM, they may also need to readjust the pricing of existing models to minimise losses.
On the end of the spectrum, laptop manufacturers may have to do the latter, particularly with high-end, ultra-thin notebooks. These models typically have their DRAM soldered on to maximise performance and minimise space, but this always comes at a premium.
(Source: TrendForce, TweakTown)
