Once again we have bad news about RAM prices for consumers and great news for manufacturers. The price rose an average of 5% this past quarter, continuing the upwards trend we have been seeing for quite some time now. The supply shortage is due to several factors but the dominant one would be the smartphone industry which has vastly increased overall demand for DRAM. Currently demand far outstrips supply, though as new fabs come online and current ones complete their upgrades to new process technology we should hopefully see a levelling in prices. As The Inquirer points out, this is not bad news for Samsung, SK Hynix or Micron who are all seeing very nice profits.
Next time you are thinking about purchasing that shiny new phone, think about your computer for a moment before pressing add to cart.
"Prices, according to DRAMeXchange, increased by around five per cent in the third quarter, and buyers can expect to pay even more in the foreseeable future."
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
- Windows on ARM: It's nearly here (again) @ The Register
- Boeing 757 Testing Shows Airplanes Vulnerable To Hacking, DHS Says @ Slashdot
- It took 19 years, but Linux finally dominates an entire market @ The Inquirer
- HPE's Apollo 'Skylaked', will get ARM-wrestling little brother next year @ The Register
- Open Source Underwater Glider Wins 2017 Hackaday Prize @ Hack a Day
- MariaDB coming to Azure, as Microsoft joins the MariaDB Foundation @ Ars Technica
- Shockingly, DARPA’s Brain Stimulator Might Not be Complete Nonsense @ Hack a Day
- Precursors to Today's Technology: These Products Had the Right Vision @ Techspot
- Intel and Micron Increase 3D XPoint Manufacturing Capacity with IM Flash Fab Expansion @ CTimes
Currently demand far
This seems unlikely, otherwise we’d be seeing periodic stock issues on RAM, graphics cards, etc.
It would be nice if Android
It would be nice if Android could put a lock down on how much ram apps an use like Apple, atleast to a logical degree, since we now have Androids with less than 1gb upto 8gb RAM.
I really hope the Chinese
I really hope the Chinese hardware companies start producing DRAM soon. This hustling by Samsung is getting annoying. The RAM price has doubled in a year!
I don’t entirely buy the shortage story. It’s like the HDD price increase from a few years ago. Yes, part of the reason was the damaged one to the plants. But there was also one last Hail Mary to maximize profits before SSD started really taking off.
Since next year China is entering the DRAM market, this is the current occupants’, mostly Samsung, attempt to maximize profits before competition muscles in..
It’s more than Samsung and
It’s more than Samsung and that’s some Triangle Cabal of DRAM suppliers at the TOP that set the prices for the entire industry. This article(1) lists the top six but the top 3 are really the big suppliers with plenty of resources to have avoided this little “Shortage” but just are getting a little extra markups with some Questionable plausible deniability by blaming the phone market. These DRAM intrests employ the best consultants in the business and they did have prior knoledge of the necessary growth projections induced by the smart phone markets, don’t let them fool you on that.
(1)
“Guess who’s getting fat off DRAM shortages? Yep, the DRAM makers
Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron burp as PC memory prices jump 30 per cent”
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/05/18/dram_bonanza_for_top_three_suppliers/
The same players involved in
The same players involved in DRAM price fixing 15 years ago.
I think it’s great to see the
I think it’s great to see the chip manufacturers profitable. They deserve it for the incredible technology they produce. No one complained about prices 1.5 yrs ago when they were losing money. Apple and others kicked them when they were down. Turnabout is fair play. No Samsung is making more off each iPhone than apple. Maybe apple ought to buy micron or Intel instead of just using them and complaining when supply is tight
Its rather convenient that
Its rather convenient that all incumbents decided to be cautious and limit capacity expansion until after Chinese capacity starts to come online.
Less than 2 years ago they
Less than 2 years ago they were loosing money and being played by cell phones makers. Retribution is sweet. Buy some micron stock and enjoy the ride. It’s also the likes of Nvidia with gpus and Intel with server chips that are consuming tons of dram. I doubt this with end soon. It the new age of cloud and ai
I’d just recommended everyone
I’d just recommended everyone hold on to their receipts in case of future class action settlements.
Smartphone sales didn’t
Smartphone sales didn’t change that much over the past year or 2 to justify such a large price increase, it is 100% price fixing.