SEOUL, Jan 30, 2026, 04:18 KST
- Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix warned PC and smartphone makers are struggling to secure DRAM as chip output swings toward AI-server memory
- IDC and Counterpoint now expect global smartphone sales to fall at least 2% in 2026; IDC sees the PC market shrinking at least 4.9%
- Samsung signalled limited capacity expansion through 2026-27, even as it leans harder into higher-margin AI-related products
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix warned on Thursday that PC and smartphone makers face a deepening squeeze in supplies of DRAM, the memory chips that sit inside most consumer devices, as chipmakers prioritise more lucrative AI-related products. (Reuters)
The two South Korean firms control about two-thirds of the DRAM market, and count Apple among customers. Tight supply and rising prices could hit margins across the consumer electronics chain and force last-minute product tweaks.
Demand already looks shaky. IDC and Counterpoint now expect global smartphone sales to shrink at least 2% in 2026, while IDC sees the PC market contracting at least 4.9% this year after 2025 growth. (Channelnewsasia)
SK Hynix’s Park Joon Deok, head of DRAM marketing, told analysts customers in PCs and mobile are “having difficulties” securing memory supply as server demand tightens the market. He spoke after the company’s earnings call.
DRAM, short for dynamic random access memory, is the “working” memory used in smartphones and PCs. Chipmakers have been redirecting factory capacity to high-bandwidth memory (HBM) — stacked, high-speed chips used alongside AI processors in data centres — leaving less output for conventional DRAM.
Samsung and peers have also been cautious about adding new production lines after the industry’s boom-and-bust cycle in 2017. Samsung has flagged that expansion will remain limited in 2026 and 2027.
Some buyers are already pulling levers. SK Hynix said customers are adjusting purchase volumes after a “surge” in memory-chip prices, and some are considering lower memory specifications in price-sensitive devices.
Samsung’s own handset unit is feeling it. A Samsung mobile executive, Cho Seong, called 2026 a “challenging year” and warned flat global smartphone shipments could still face downward revisions if memory prices keep climbing.
In separate comments tied to earnings, Samsung said a broad memory shortage would persist “for the time being,” even as higher prices lift its chip profits and weigh on its mobile and display businesses. Samsung posted 20 trillion won ($13.98 billion) in operating profit for the October-December quarter, while its chip division’s profit jumped to 16.4 trillion won. (Reuters)
Analyst Sohn In-joon at Heungkuk Securities said memory price increases look set to accelerate this quarter, intensifying the cost burden for Samsung’s mobile business. Samsung co-CEO TM Roh separately described the shortage as “unprecedented” and did not rule out price rises.
The Financial Times reported top chipmakers are planning to boost capital spending as AI-driven demand strains supply, though Samsung and SK Hynix have also signalled capacity expansion will be limited this year and next. (Ft)
The squeeze is also sharpening the fight in AI memory. SK Hynix, a key supplier to Nvidia, led the HBM market last year with a 61% share, ahead of Samsung at 19% and Micron at 20%, according to Macquarie Equity Research.
SK Hynix has vowed to keep its “overwhelming” lead in next-generation HBM4 chips, while Samsung has said it will keep increasing the portion of AI-related products in its output mix — a shift that could further constrain conventional DRAM for consumer devices.
A downturn in phone and PC demand could cool orders and take some heat out of prices, but it would also deepen the pressure on consumer electronics makers already facing higher component bills. The bigger unknown is whether AI-server demand stays strong enough — and long enough — to keep memory makers rationing supply into 2027.
