TAIPEI, January 19, 2026, 23:44 GMT+8
- Memory price forecasts for early 2026 signal yet another wave of cost pressure on phones and PCs
- Nothing CEO Carl Pei warns brands might face a tough choice: hike prices by 30% or slash specs
- Micron plans to boost DRAM capacity in Taiwan amid suppliers’ shift toward AI-driven demand
Legacy memory prices are set to surge again, with DDR4 contract prices predicted to climb as much as 50% in Q1 due to tightening supply and enterprise demand, TrendForce News reported Monday. Some major suppliers have even paused price quotes ahead of talks expected to stretch into late January and February. TrendForce projects conventional DRAM contract prices to leap 55% to 60% quarter-on-quarter, while NAND flash contracts could rise 33% to 38%. 1
This is significant because DRAM serves as the working memory—or RAM—in phones and PCs, while NAND flash stores apps and photos. Both types of memory are now in high demand for data center expansions focused on generative AI. “Cost increases [are] being passed through to customers,” explained Ben Yeh, principal analyst at Omdia, noting that firms like Nvidia and Google are snapping up more memory for their AI setups. 2
Nothing CEO Carl Pei, whose company makes Android smartphones, said last week brands are stuck with two options: “raise prices, by 30% or more” or cut device specs as memory costs climb. Pei pointed out that some memory prices have already tripled, adding a stark warning: “The era of cheap silicon is over.” 3
India’s Times of India, citing Pei’s remarks, reported that Nothing plans price hikes across its smartphone lineup. The company is upgrading some devices launching in the first quarter to UFS 3.1, a faster storage standard. 4
Memory manufacturers are focusing on higher-margin products for cloud providers and AI chips, cutting back on older models. TrendForce reports that Samsung is holding to its DDR4 end-of-life schedule, which could drive per-gigabit prices to record levels by 2026 due to shrinking supply. 5
U.S. memory giant Micron is expanding its capacity with a $1.8 billion cash deal to acquire Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing’s P5 fab in Tongluo, Taiwan. The company expects this move to increase its DRAM wafer output starting in the second half of 2027 and add roughly 300,000 square feet of cleanroom space. Powerchip also announced that the two firms will form a long-term foundry partnership focused on advanced packaging. 6
TrendForce noted that Micron’s latest move might boost global DRAM supply forecasts for 2027. They estimate that the first phase of the Tongluo fab will account for over 10% of Micron’s worldwide capacity by the second half of 2027, based on fourth-quarter 2026 figures. According to TrendForce, Micron held a 25.7% share of global DRAM revenue in Q3 2025. 7
The memory market continues to fluctuate between shortages and oversupply, creating a messy timing issue. If consumers hold off on upgrades or phone manufacturers reduce memory and storage to keep prices down, demand might weaken even as suppliers push to ramp up production.
Right now, the pinch hits where margins run thin and upgrades are sold in gigabytes. Expect new models to come with steeper price tags, less memory added each year, or sometimes both.
