December 16, 2025 Samsung has reportedly raised contract prices for DDR5 memory by more than 100%. According to reports out of Taiwan, the company has pushed DDR5 DRAM pricing to US$19.50 per unit after telling major customers that available supply has effectively run out.
According to an industry analyst citing Taiwanese media, Samsung informed downstream customers that DDR5 availability is constrained. This forced buyers, including major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), to accept sharply higher terms.
The report comes as memory suppliers continue to redirect capacity toward higher-margin AI and data centre demand. But the impact is not limited to next-generation memory. DDR4 pricing has also climbed sharply, with contract prices for 16GB modules reportedly rising to around US$18. That erases one of the industry’s traditional pressure valves, where manufacturers could lean on older memory standards to control costs. Spot market prices reinforce the trend, with both DDR4 and DDR5 continuing to rise through December and showing no signs of stabilizing.
For consumers, the impact is likely delayed but hard to avoid. Contract pricing determines what OEMs pay months in advance, and those increases typically surface in retail pricing once new devices ship. Laptop makers such as Lenovo and Dell may raise prices, reducing memory configurations on entry-level models or narrowing product lineups. The same dynamic could apply to smartphones, where memory is a significant component cost for companies like Apple and Samsung.
Samsung’s move follows earlier signals that memory suppliers are deprioritizing consumer markets in favour of AI infrastructure, where long-term contracts and higher margins offer more predictable returns. With multiple suppliers taking similar approaches, even modest demand shifts can lead to outsized pricing pressure.
Industry watchers now expect memory pricing to remain elevated well into 2026, with any meaningful relief unlikely before 2027. For buyers planning upgrades, that creates a narrow window. Devices purchased today were largely built using memory secured under older contracts before the latest increases took effect.
Samsung has not publicly commented on the reported price changes. But with both DDR4 and DDR5 now rising together, the era of steadily falling memory prices appears to be over, at least for the next product cycle.
