Samsung Plans Another Major Memory Price Increase as LPDDR and DRAM Costs Continue to Climb

Samsung Electronics is reportedly preparing another significant round of memory chip price increases for the third quarter of 2026, with prices for LPDDR memory expected to rise by more than 20%, while standard DRAM products could see increases of up to 20%. The move comes as the global memory market remains under heavy pressure from AI-driven demand and limited manufacturing capacity.

According to industry reports, Samsung has already begun negotiating new supply contracts with customers based on the higher pricing. Analysts say demand for server DRAM, LPDDR used in smartphones, and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) continues to outpace supply, allowing manufacturers to push through another round of price hikes. TrendForce expects overall DRAM contract prices to increase by roughly 13–18% during the quarter, while LPDDR products could rise even more sharply.

The latest increase follows an extraordinary year for the memory industry. Samsung reportedly raised average DRAM prices by around 90% in the first quarter of 2026, followed by an additional 50–60% increase in the second quarter. If the planned third-quarter adjustments are finalized, memory prices will have reached some of their highest levels in years, affecting manufacturers across the smartphone, PC, gaming, and data center markets.

For consumers, the continued rise in memory costs could translate into higher prices for future smartphones, laptops, graphics cards, and gaming devices, as manufacturers absorb increasingly expensive components. Industry analysts attribute the situation largely to explosive demand from AI infrastructure and advanced computing hardware, which has tightened global memory supply. Unless production capacity expands significantly, elevated DRAM and LPDDR prices are expected to remain a defining trend throughout the remainder of 2026.