According to data from research firm Omdia, costs for mobile DRAM memory (LPDDR) have increased by over 70% since the start of last year, and prices for NAND flash memory for smartphones have jumped by roughly 100%.
Analysis by TrendForce notes that “memory expense now constitutes over 20% of the total production cost for smartphones, up from the previous 10–15%.”
Pressure from escalating memory expenditures is also impacting the performance of firms producing smartphones. Last year, the operating profit for Samsung’s MX mobile division grew year-over-year each quarter, reaching 4.3 trillion won in the second quarter, 3.1 trillion won in the third quarter, and 3.6 trillion won in the fourth quarter. However, as pricing strain on memory intensified, profitability notably declined in the fourth quarter.
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