Samsung is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the current memory chip price hikes. It enjoys incredible pricing power because there's not enough supply to go around, but some phone makers are now pushing back.
According to a new report, two leading Chinese manufacturers have rejected Samsung's proposed DRAM pricing for the third quarter of this year.
Manufacturers are pushing back against consistent price hikes
Memory chip suppliers like Samsung have shifted to shorter duration contracts because the prices keep going up. This is bad for phone makers because it puts pressures on their margins.
The report mentions that Chinese phone makers have begun showing resistance to the rising memory prices. Oppo and Vivo have reportedly rejected Samsung's proposed memory pricing for the third quarter of this year, even though the proposed increase is said to be smaller than those in the last two quarters.
No manufacturer is immune to the current market dynamics. Even Samsung's own phone division is staring at an annual loss because it's also having to buy more expensive memory chips, including from the company's own semiconductor division.
Even though the first signs of resistance from smartphone manufacturers have begun appearing, it doesn't mean that memory chip prices are going to come down any time soon. The AI demand is still insatiable and there's no meaningful new supply coming online for at least a couple of years.
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