Despite its trillion-dollar budget, technology giant Apple acted quickly to avoid being affected by the global DRAM shortage. With its long-term contracts with Samsung and SK Hynix set to expire at the beginning of next year, the company made a strategic move to avoid potential price increases. The Cupertino-based giant secured a new agreement with Samsung, making the Korean manufacturer its largest memory supplier.
Samsung dominates the supply chain
According to recent reports, while Apple wanted to maintain diversity in its supply chain, circumstances have shifted the balance in one direction. With this new agreement, Samsung has taken on a massive 60-70% of DRAM shipments for Apple devices. This memory will be used not only in the currently available iPhone 17 series but also in the iPhone 18 family to be introduced next year. Samsung filled the gap left by Apple as the other major manufacturer, SK Hynix, shifted its production capacity to HBM technology, which is critical for AI servers.
Expected to be released in the third quarter of next year, the iPhone 18 series will switch to a six-channel LPDDR5X memory architecture due to the increasing need for AI performance. These new 12GB LPDDR5X chips, manufactured by Samsung, are among the thinnest components on the market, measuring only 0.65 millimeters thick. Capable of meeting the stringent voltage requirements of A19 and A20 series processors, these chips improve thermal resistance by 21% and reduce power consumption by 25%.
The global memory shortage has also impacted prices. The price of a 12GB LPDDR5X RAM chip, which was around $30 at the beginning of the year, has already risen to $70. This is expected to increase Samsung’s operating profit to $73 billion by 2026. Apple, on the other hand, plans to absorb this cost increase without passing it on to consumers by using the savings achieved through its own A-series processors and C2 5G modem.
So, do you think it’s risky for a giant like Apple to be so dependent on a single supplier, or will Samsung’s quality guarantee this? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
