Apple depends on Samsung when RAM prices increase sharply

Theo Korea Economic Daily, Apple is drastically adjusting the RAM supply chain. In particular, Samsung is expected to take on 60% to 70% of the power-saving DRAM (LPDDR) for the upcoming iPhone. This is a big change compared to the current strategy of dividing orders equally between Samsung and SK Hynix.

Cost pressure is said to be the direct cause of the sudden dependence on Samsung. In early 2025, a 12 GB LPDDR5X module cost about 30 USD, but jumped to 70 USD by the end of the year, an increase of 130%. In addition, the memory market is also undergoing a large-scale shift. While the iPhone uses the LPDDR standard optimized for mobile devices, two other Apple partners, SK Hynix and Micron, focus on producing high bandwidth memory (HBM).

HBM is a key component for AI accelerators and data centers, bringing in much higher profit margins than phone RAM. Competitors’ withdrawal of LPDDR production lines has tightened supply for the mobile market, helping Samsung become the only name capable of meeting the huge and stable volume of orders for Apple.

Not only is it a matter of quantity, Apple also sets strict technical requirements. To ensure consistent performance across millions of devices, Apple wants the RAM module to have absolute stability in voltage and temperature. Samsung is currently leading with LPDDR5X 12 GB with advantages such as a thickness of only 0.65 mm, significantly thinner than competitors, helping to save space inside the iPhone, heat resistance improved by 21% compared to the previous generation and saving 25% of energy consumption.

Technology experts say that the fact that Apple has to rely on its biggest competitor in the smartphone field shows the harshness of the components market. While the AI ​​fever has not cooled down, phone manufacturers will still face many challenges in hardware costs in the near future.