Memory Now Eats 50%+ of Phone Costs, Nothing CEO Warns
Carl Pei says RAM is now the priciest phone component and expects prices to climb through 2027.
Nothing CEO Carl Pei is sounding the alarm on smartphone pricing. Memory, he says, has become the single most expensive component in phones — eating up more than 50% of the bill of materials in some models.
That's a massive shift. RAM costs are surging, and Pei predicts the pain isn't going away anytime soon. He expects phone prices to keep climbing into 2027.
The ripple effects are already showing up at the register. According to Pei, the holiday discounts consumers have come to expect probably won't hit the same this year. Brands simply can't absorb the component cost increases and slash prices at the same time.
For budget-conscious buyers, the message is clear: cheap phones are getting less cheap, and the trend has legs.