Samsung has reportedly signed a massive five-year long-term memory chip deal that will see the majority of its general-purpose DRAM and HBM memory chips go to “global big tech companies”. A new report from Yonhap News suggests that 70% of Samsung’s DRAM supply and a full 100% of the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips that are set to be produced next year are already reserved. The report also specifies “fierce competition” for the remaining 30% of Samsung’s DRAM orders.
HBM chip prices are expected to jump between 150 and 200% next year, while DRAM prices are also expected to see a double-digit price increase in Q1 2027. All of this means that Samsung’s Device Solutions (DS) wing is raking in record profits riding the global memory chip shortage.
A stack of Samsung HBM4E memory
But it’s not all good news for Samsung users, as the rising RAM prices will almost certainly mean higher manufacturing costs and more expensive devices. Samsung’s mobile experience (MX) division will have to compete with Samsung Device Solutions (DS)’s clientele for the DRAM chips. So those Galaxy S27 series phones will almost certainly come with price hikes.