Memory is "destroying everything"

Every era has its own symbols— the first decade of the 21st century might be “Olympics,” the second decade might be “Internet,” and so on.

Now that this third decade is just past its halfway point, we are seeing a strong contender for an era symbol: memory.

Image | Wccftech

After all, over a billion electronic devices worldwide, the vast majority of which feature memory—home appliances, cars, infrastructure, aerospace—none are missing.

The vigorous development of artificial intelligence goes without saying—it’s both the culprit behind the memory crisis and the biggest beneficiary of memory technology, just standing in a position closer to the spotlight.

Image | OpenAI

But the real problem we face isn’t AI or memory, but this kind of “reckless development model relying on stacking memory and computing power, developing AI at all costs.”

It is encroaching from its original domain outward, gradually affecting all aspects that neither want nor should be affected by a technological crisis.

01

As the most direct victims of memory chip price hikes, the mobile phone market in 2026 is destined to be turbulent.

In the storm, small manufacturers can’t huddle together for warmth, nor can they influence industry trends; they can only keep cutting low-end lines, subtly lowering flagship prices, and raising prices directly to maintain profit margins.

Moreover, Samsung’s phones and storage, though bearing the same name, are not spared from internal conflicts— the DS division raises prices and restricts supplies, while the MX division suffers the same.

In such times, Apple and Huawei, which have ample profit margins, can grit their teeth and persist in price wars, swallowing up more market share.

But given time, even these large ships won’t be able to withstand it.

Whether it’s the recently released Pura 90 series or the rumored iPhone 18 series, we’ve seen compromises caused by runaway memory prices.

What makes ordinary consumers uncomfortable is that memory price hikes not only affect the official launch prices but also cause chaos in secondary markets and second-hand trading.

Image | Xianyu

Take OPPO, which has the latest mid-range product line; just after the first half-year release cycle ended, multiple rounds of “price hikes at launch, initial discounts, second-hand prices plummeting” have already occurred.

As for entry-level models or even cheaper contract phones, they are almost extinct in what should be their springtime, just as iFanr summarized last year:

The era of large-volume, all-you-can-manage phone hardware is over; what’s coming is a full-line price increase and downgrades.

02

Following closely behind, computers are affected just as severely.

While the iPhone can still rely on profit margins and supply chain influence to support a “roughly unchanged” price, the more cost-constrained Mac isn’t so lucky.

Since last year, Apple has rarely officially announced difficulties in memory procurement, but the product line has indeed shrunk.

Image | AppleInsider

For example, the beloved Mac mini quietly canceled the 32GB and 64GB options for the M4/M4 Pro models, leaving only 24GB and 48GB.

The M3 Ultra is even worse—originally offering 96GB, 256GB, and 512GB configurations, now only the basic 96GB remains:

Not to mention the highly popular MacBook Neo, which was already struggling with stock of the A18 Pro, and now even the memory chips can’t keep up.

Some foreign media report that Apple is considering canceling the 256GB entry option, almost completely diverging from Neo’s original intent.

Windows isn’t doing well either; after all, memory and SSDs are a pair of unfortunate lovers.

Plus, with the underperforming Windows 11 and unstoppable local AI demands, even without considering graphics cards, the DIY PC market has effectively “died” over the past half-year.

Image | Reddit

As for the sub-$500 (3,500 RMB) laptop market, it’s even more chaotic.

Traditional laptop profit models have always been simple and limited; the huge price swings in essential components like memory have even revived the 8GB segment.

The gaming console industry has also suffered.

Nintendo recently announced: the Switch 2 price is expected to rise from 49,980 yen to 59,980 yen, an increase of about 434 RMB.

Image | Notebookcheck CN

Meanwhile, Valve’s highly anticipated Steam Machine has been in production hell since last year, with no clear future.

03

Unfortunately, the impact of memory prices extends far beyond the tech industry—its challenges, for some long-standing “traditional crafts,” present a rare opportunity.

Recently, Korean media reported: theft gangs have shifted their primary targets from gold and jewelry to memory modules.

Offices of some tech companies and startups in Seoul have been targeted by “organized crime with clear intent”—thieves, like playing “Escape from Tarkov,” just grab the cases and memory sticks and run.

Image | XDA Developers

After all, memory sticks are lightweight, don’t require melting or cutting like gold jewelry, and are difficult to trace once in the market. The criminal value driven by prices is only a matter of time.

Beyond “traditional crafts,” the automotive industry has also been affected this year. According to The Paper:

BYD has adjusted the optional prices for assisted driving in some models of its Dynasty, Ocean, and Fangcheng Leopard series from 9,900 yuan to 12k yuan starting May 1, citing “significant increases in global storage hardware costs.”

Image | BYD

Even Elon Musk, who tends to speak off the cuff, couldn’t escape. During the January earnings call, he expressed concern about memory prices impacting Tesla’s supercomputer (Dojo) and robots, and boldly stated:

If supply from Samsung and Micron continues to tighten, Tesla may consider building its own semiconductor factories in the future to produce storage chips independently.

04

The most outrageous impact of memory price hikes is in South Korea’s matchmaking market.

Today, with AI server-specific HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) developed to this point, only Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix remain in the supply chain, giving South Korea a critical leverage in global AI technology.

According to Korean media, Hynix last September abolished its bonus cap system, replacing it with a direct 10% of annual operating profit as performance bonuses for all employees.

Image | Seoul Economics Daily

Hynix’s projected profit for 2026 is about 250 trillion won (roughly $1.69 billion USD), with each of its nearly 35k employees expected to receive a bonus of about 14 million won (around $95k or 646k RMB).

As a result, overnight, “I work at Hynix” has skyrocketed past “I work at Samsung” in value.

Some Hynix employees have anonymously reported receiving a flood of matchmaking invitations recently, to the point of being overwhelmed.

A Korean variety show clip

Hynix is celebrating, while Samsung Electronics is busy striking.

On April 17, Samsung’s labor union negotiated with Samsung, demanding a 7% pay raise, removal of bonus caps, and 15% of operating profit as bonuses; otherwise, a general strike is planned from May 21 to June 7.

Image | Korea JoongAng Daily

Scholars estimate that such a strike could cause direct losses of about $6.9 to $17.7 billion USD, and damage Samsung’s reputation as an HBM4 chip supplier. It is reported that both sides have agreed on a 13% bonus.

The bubble continues

At this point, the “memory price increase” itself has diverged from the original supply chain disruptions caused by AI expansion, instead spreading through all kinds of electronic products seen in daily life.

Contrary to many commenters on iFanr who boast “Refuse to buy! Let manufacturers feel the pain!,”—

Ordinary people are not buying it; for memory price hikes, it’s really just a minor annoyance.

After all, whether it’s AI-specific HBM or DDR/LPDDR chips, the main sales are still to downstream manufacturers.

And Samsung and Hynix prefer that ordinary consumers buy nothing at all so they can allocate all capacity to HBM and high-performance VRAM chips. AI giants and tech companies still queue up to buy, earning even more.

Unfortunately, no one knows how long this chaotic wave will last.

What kind of era AI will usher in in the future is also unknown, but the current bubble in AI undoubtedly marks the end of the golden age of microcomputer science since the 1980s.

Memory is destroying everything.

This article from: iFanr

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