Samsung is reportedly preparing another round of DRAM price increases for the third quarter of 2026. The company is holding talks with customers as demand for memory chips continues to outpace supply across servers, smartphones, and AI systems.
Industry sources say Samsung wants to increase average DRAM selling prices by up to 20% from the previous quarter. At the same time, LPDDR memory could see an even bigger jump of more than 20% because supplies remain especially limited.
The expected increase would be Samsung’s third straight quarterly price hike. Earlier this year, the company raised average DRAM selling prices by more than 90% in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2025. During the second quarter, prices climbed by another 50% to 60%, according to industry estimates.
Although the latest increase may not be as sharp as previous ones, buyers are still unlikely to see any meaningful price relief during the third quarter.
Memory Prices Continue to Rise
The shortage is no longer limited to one type of memory. It now affects standard server DRAM, high-bandwidth memory, and LPDDR chips. These memory products power smartphones, servers, thin laptops, and AI inference workloads.
A 12GB LPDDR5X module was priced at around $120 near the end of the first quarter and during the early part of the second quarter. Since then, its contract price has increased to about $145. That marks a $68.80 rise since the beginning of 2026. It is also nearly three times higher than the price seen in early 2025.
Because of these rising costs, smartphone, PC, and server manufacturers may have to make difficult decisions. They could increase retail prices, lower memory configurations, or delay upcoming product launches.
Samsung is seeing faster price changes than SK Hynix because it has a larger share of the commodity DRAM market. This market is more sensitive to supply and demand changes. In comparison, SK Hynix earns more from high-bandwidth memory sold under long-term contracts. Those agreements provide more stable pricing and reduce the impact of short-term market swings.
As more companies adopt long-term contracts, quarterly price increases across the memory industry could become less extreme. However, these agreements also lock in minimum prices. Therefore, memory prices may not return to the low levels seen in previous years.
Samsung and SK Hynix Expand Future Production
To meet growing demand, Samsung and SK Hynix plan to invest a combined 800 trillion won, or around $518 billion, in four new semiconductor plants in southwestern South Korea.
The companies expect the new facilities to strengthen memory production as AI technologies continue to drive demand. However, construction and expansion will take several years. As a result, the new investment will not solve the current supply shortage anytime soon.
Until additional production capacity becomes available, memory prices are expected to remain high. That could continue putting pressure on manufacturers of smartphones, computers, servers, and gaming devices throughout the market.
