Multiple smartphone manufacturers have temporarily suspended the procurement of storage chips, with some manufacturers having less than three weeks of inventory
Due to the rise in storage chip prices, several smartphone manufacturers have postponed procurement, with inventory levels falling below three weeks. Manufacturers such as Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo have inventories of less than two months, and some manufacturers have DRAM inventories of less than three weeks. Original manufacturers like Micron Tech, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix have seen price increases close to 50%. The demand for AI large models has driven a surge in data center demand for storage chips, with server manufacturers willing to pay higher prices. Samsung has suspended DDR5 DRAM pricing, leading to a 25% spike in spot prices. The four major storage leaders have reduced NAND supply, pushing prices up. North American tech companies, concerned about rising prices, have begun stockpiling
On November 14th, Jiemian News exclusively learned that due to the skyrocketing prices of upstream storage chips, several smartphone manufacturers have temporarily halted their procurement of storage chips for this quarter. Manufacturers such as Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo generally have inventory levels below two months, with some manufacturers having DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) inventory below three weeks, hesitating to accept price quotes from original manufacturers (Micron, Samsung, SK Hynix) that are close to a 50% increase.
An employee from an original manufacturer, Jackey, told Jiemian News, “We are not worried about sales right now. If smartphone manufacturers don’t want them, we can allocate our production capacity to server clients, who are also in short supply and can pay higher prices.”
Driven by the wave of AI large models, the demand for storage chips in data centers has surged, which is one of the reasons for the current price increase in storage chips. Server manufacturers are often willing to pay higher prices for procurement. Jiemian News learned that for the same storage products, the prices quoted to server manufacturers are often more than 30% higher than those for smartphone manufacturers.
According to the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily, Samsung Electronics had previously taken the lead in suspending the contract quotes for October DDR5 DRAM, with the resumption of quotes expected to be delayed until mid-November. This move caused the spot price of DDR5 to soar by 25% within just one week. Meanwhile, the four major storage leaders—Samsung, SK Hynix, Kioxia, and Micron—have all cut NAND flash supply in the second half of this year to seek to drive up NAND prices.
Samsung's NAND wafer production target for this year has been lowered by about 7% from last year's 5.07 million pieces to 4.72 million pieces; Kioxia has also reduced its annual production from last year's 4.8 million pieces to 4.69 million pieces. SK Hynix's NAND production has decreased from last year's 2.01 million pieces to about 1.8 million pieces, a decline of about 10%; Micron's largest NAND production base, the Singapore Fab 7 plant, will maintain production at just over 300,000 pieces, keeping a conservative supply.
The report also pointed out that as AI demand drives more production lines to shift to Quad-Level Cell (QLC) technology, the decline in NAND flash production is inevitable. Large North American tech companies, worried about soaring NAND prices, have begun “panic buying,” with some suppliers' NAND supply for next year already fully booked.
A week ago, flash memory leader SanDisk significantly raised NAND flash contract prices in November, with increases as high as 50%, prompting Micron and other storage leaders to follow suit with price hikes.
Jackey told Jiemian News, “The stocking cycle for smartphone manufacturers is generally around three months. Currently, the DRAM levels across various companies are generally over a month, while NAND levels are around two months. Now that products are in short supply, it’s only a matter of time before smartphone manufacturers accept the current quotes from original manufacturers for matching supplies. However, original manufacturers will still consider the feelings of smartphone clients, as we cannot rely solely on the (server) market.”
Storage chips are known as the second most important component of smartphones, with costs second only to smartphone processors (CPUs). Depending on the model and configuration, their cost share generally ranges from 10% to 30%, and in some high-end models (such as the 12GB+512GB configuration), the cost share of storage chips may exceed 20% In the third quarter of 2025, the prices of storage chips surged significantly, leading to a general price increase of 100-500 yuan for mid-to-high-end smartphones. For example, the price difference between the 12GB+256GB and 16GB+512GB versions of the OPPO Find X9 series reached 900 yuan.
At the same time, this round of price increases for storage chips has already impacted the smartphone industry. A representative from a domestic smartphone brand told Jiemian News that currently, companies are observing their competitors' product strategies for next year. In the context of rising storage prices, there is still no conclusion on whether to reduce specifications or raise prices, and many projects have been halted due to excessively high costs caused by the increase in storage chip prices.
On November 13, Zhao Haijun, co-CEO of SMIC, stated at the Q3 2025 earnings conference that due to shortages in storage supply and rising prices, industries such as smartphones and network communication equipment are being cautious in their procurement. To meet urgent orders related to storage and analog products, SMIC postponed the shipment of some smartphone products in the third quarter.
Jiemian News reporters learned from the supply chain that manufacturers generally maintain an inventory of about 6 to 8 weeks, adjusting prices based on the supply and demand situation each quarter. Currently, the inventories of major manufacturers are nearing depletion, and there is clearly not much room for price flexibility.
"Everyone is currently in a stage of negotiation. Chip manufacturers will prioritize supplying their inventory to smartphone manufacturers to maintain customer relationships, and smartphone manufacturers hope someone will step up to negotiate a price first, which would create room for further negotiations. However, at this point, only Apple has the capability to negotiate," the informed source told Jiemian News.
He pointed out that even if manufacturers choose to expand production now, it would take one to two years to meet the current market capacity demands. The current booming demand for AI may not be free of bubbles, and a true understanding of actual quantities may not be clear until next year. Currently, manufacturers represented by Samsung and SK Hynix are clearly not willing to easily expand production; instead, reducing production will yield higher profits. Therefore, it is expected that storage chip prices will see further increases in the first half of next year.
Author of this article: Li Jiaqi, Source: Jiemian News, Original Title: "Multiple smartphone manufacturers temporarily halt procurement of storage chips, with some manufacturers' inventories insufficient for three weeks"
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