If Samsung's DRAM shortage continues, your next Galaxy phone will get pricier

What you need to know

• Reports claim that Samsung is running into a DRAM production shortage due to its recent focus on more "profitable" high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production for AI servers.
• With that, the company's run into a DRAM shortage, which has reportedly driven up its costs, and it could impact future "low to mid" priced Galaxy phones.
• There was speculation that Samsung could raise its Galaxy S25 series prices, but that didn't end up happening.

There are reports from overseas that claim Samsung's future Galaxy phones could cost consumers a little more over memory struggles.

The report in question is from Hankyung (Korean), which claims that Samsung is mulling over the idea of raising prices of DRAM, used in phones and PCs (via 9to5Google). The reason behind this potential price hike is that, according to the publication, Samsung is running into a "shortage" of available DRAM for mobile devices and computers.

This shortage is reportedly the result of a sharp rise in HBM (high-bandwidth memory) production used for AI servers.

There's more to this, as the publication states HBM is "more than five times more profitable than standard DRAM." Samsung has moved significantly into this HBM production world, crafting the necessary components to sustain the rise of AI and AI servers. While producing more HBM is seemingly more "profitable" for Samsung (and other companies), it's left its DRAM high and dry with its required resources.

What appears like a neglect in DRAM production will reportedly directly affect Samsung's phones, but only its "low to mid-priced phones." Going by that, perhaps Galaxy A series and below could take a hit, though it's unclear if future FE phones could see similar price hikes.

Samsung's got to make changes

As far as Android is concerned, the DRAM problem is worrying; however, Samsung's efforts in ramping up HBM are causing price hikes for SSDs.

For now, it seems consumers can breathe easy about a potential price increase for future Galaxy S series phones, something we did when the Galaxy S25 launched, too. Earlier this year, it was made evident that Samsung didn't drop a price hike on the S25 series, notably the S25 Ultra, like speculation previously theorized. This was a good thing as the Ultra already carries quite a hefty $1,299 price tag, like the S24 Ultra when it launched.

It's important to note that the S24 Ultra saw a $100 increase over the S23 Ultra, but a representative informed Android Central that the cost matched the improvements. They said in a statement, "Over the last three years, we have added and improved Ultra dramatically, and we have prided ourselves in providing an absolute best value that we can to our customers."

Perhaps, with what's going on with Samsung's current DRAM shortage, the company is looking to recoup those costs elsewhere, without forcing it on its Galaxy S. We are expecting the Galaxy S26 series next year; however, it might've been delayed. New rumors claim the S26 series could debut in March 2026, not January.