RAM is so expensive, Samsung won’t even sell it to Samsung

The price of eggs has nothing on the price of computer memory right now. Thanks to a supply crunch from the “AI” bubble, RAM chips are the new gold, with prices on consumer PC memory kits ballooning out of control. In an object lesson in the ridiculousness of an economic bubble, Samsung won’t even sell its memory to… Samsung.

Here’s the situation. Samsung makes everything from refrigerators to supermassive oil tankers. Getting all that stuff made requires an organization that’s literally dozens of affiliated companies and subsidiaries, which don’t necessarily work as closely or harmoniously as you might assume. For this story, we’re talking about Samsung Electronics, which makes Galaxy phones, tablets, laptops, watches, etc., and Samsung Semiconductor Global, which manufactures memory and other chips and supplies the global market. That global market includes both Samsung subsidiaries and their competitors—laptops from Samsung, Dell, and Lenovo sitting on a Best Buy store shelf might all have Samsung-manufactured memory sitting in their RAM slots.

Samsung subsidiaries are, naturally, going to look to Samsung Semiconductor first when they need parts. Such was reportedly the case for Samsung Electronics, in search of memory supplies for its newest smartphones as the company ramps up production for 2026 flagship designs. But with so much RAM hardware going into new “AI” data centers—and those companies willing to pay top dollar for their hardware—memory manufacturers like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are prioritizing data center suppliers to maximize profits.

The end result, according to a report from SE Daily spotted by SamMobile, is that Samsung Semiconductor rejected the original order for smartphone DRAM chips from Samsung Electronics’ Mobile Experience division. The smartphone manufacturing arm of the company had hoped to nail down pricing and supply for another year. But reports say that due to “chipflation,” the phone-making division must renegotiate quarterly, with a long-term supply deal rejected by its corporate sibling. A short-term deal, with higher prices, was reportedly hammered out.

Assuming that this information is accurate—and to be clear, we can’t independently confirm it—consumers will see prices rise for Samsung phones and other mobile hardware. But that’s hardly a surprise. Finished electronics probably won’t see the same meteoric rise in prices as consumer-grade RAM modules, but this rising tide is flooding all the boats. Raspberry Pi, which strives to keep its mod-friendly electronics as cheap as possible, has recently had to bring prices up and called out memory costs as the culprit. Lenovo, the world’s largest PC manufacturer, is stockpiling memory supplies as a bulwark against the market.

But if you’re hoping to see prices lower in 2026, don’t hold your breath. According to a forecast from memory supplier TeamGroup, component prices have tripled recently, causing finished modules to jump in prices as quickly as 100 percent in a month. Absent some kind of disastrous market collapse, prices are expected to continue rising into next year, and supply could remain constrained well into 2027 or later.