Unusual twist means that a component other than the AP will determine phone prices next year
In a surprising turn of events, RAM prices might be more important in determining new smartphone prices in 2026.
Qualcomm and MediaTek's newest application processors (APs) are expected to be rolling out of TSMC's fabs later this year. The world's top foundry will be using its 3rd-generation 3nm process node (N3P) to produce the flagship application processors (APs) designed by the aforementioned companies. Staying with the 3nm process to build chips like the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 and the Dimensity 9500 should keep price hikes for these components in check. As a result, phone manufacturers might have the opportunity to keep price hikes from getting out of hand while still benefiting from healthy margins.
A message posted on Chinese social media site Weibo by proficient leaker Digital Chat Station notes that while TSMC will charge clients like Qualcomm and MediaTek more to make their APs using its third-gen 3nm process node, this hike is expected to be a small bump. Smartphone buyers will benefit the most since manufacturers won't have to raise their prices too much to keep their profit margins steady.
Tipster Digital Chat Station posts about higher RAM prices. | Image credit-Weibo
While application processor prices are expected to be slightly higher, Digital Chat Station also says that prices for top LPDDR5X RAM memory chips have already increased 5% with more increases possible during the third and fourth quarters this year. These price hikes could impact new flagship models at the end of 2025. This is setting things up for an unusual twist in the 2026 smartphone market, as AP pricing might not be as important in determining smartphone price hikes as the pricing of RAM chips is
The relative importance of RAM pricing compared to AP prices could continue into next year. That's when LPDDR6 RAM could be ready for use on smartphones with Samsung believed to be rushing development of the memory component. By speeding up LPDDR6 RAM development, Samsung is hoping that it can be ready in time for the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 for Galaxy AP, which will power the Galaxy S26 Ultra in 2026. The Galaxy S26 series will probably be released in late January, early February next year.
The new RAM chips will be built by Samsung Foundry using its advanced 1c DRAM process. "1c" is actually the sixth-generation process, with "1x" being the first. Each generation process features performance and energy efficiency improvements.
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