New figures from Counterpoint Research estimate that the bill of materials (BOM) for the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro Max could rise nearly US$300 compared with the iPhone 17 Pro Max released in September last year. Ballooning memory costs largely account for this increase, although Apple may be better placed than most other smartphone brands to weather such price hikes.
Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology are taking different manufacturing paths for the logic base die in HBM4, opening a new front in the competition over advanced memory performance, yield and supply.
GigaDevice Semiconductor expects first-half 2026 net profit to reach about CNY6.9 billion (US$960 million), a 1,099% increase from a year earlier, after tight memory chip supply lifted both shipment volumes and prices.
High-bandwidth memory (HBM) prices could more than double in 2027 as Nvidia's Rubin platform drives demand, HBM4 raises production costs, and long-term agreements lock up an increasing share of global DRAM capacity, according to memory industry sources.
ADATA Technology's board has approved a public tender offer for Tittot's common shares at NT$24 (US$0.75) per share in cash, a move that could reshape Taiwan's cultural sector and attract attention from global investors watching how technology companies broaden beyond their core hardware businesses. The deal underscores growing cross-industry convergence and could strengthen brand positioning across Asia and beyond.
CXMT has launched a CNY29.5 billion (approx. US$4.1 billion) STAR Market IPO, giving China's top DRAM maker fresh capital to upgrade 17nm production, expand DDR5, and develop HBM for AI servers and high-performance computing.
CXMT's STAR Market IPO suggests China's largest DRAM maker is prioritizing commodity memory over an aggressive near-term push into high-bandwidth memory (HBM). This eases concerns that Chinese suppliers are about to challenge the dominance of Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron in AI memory.
The 2026 smartphone market is facing a dark outlook as memory prices rise and shortages tighten supply, weighing on low- and mid-range handsets and hitting power amplifier (PA) shipments. Supply-chain companies said weaker gross margins are prompting brand owners to cut production and delay new model launches, while consumer caution is also dragging on demand.
SK Group chairman Tae-Won Chey is reportedly set to travel to the US for SK Hynix's American depositary receipt (ADR) listing on Nasdaq, where he will personally attend the celebration in New York. The move is being seen as more than a capital market event, as it marks an important moment in SK Hynix's effort to reposition itself from a traditional memory maker into a core company in AI infrastructure.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix may take longer than expected to adopt hybrid bonding in next-generation high-bandwidth memory, as industry sources cited by ZDNetKorea say the near-term case for the technology has weakened even though its long-term relevance remains intact.
The AI data center boom is reshaping the memory supply chain, giving Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron greater pricing power while pushing cost pressure into PCs, smartphones, cars, and other end markets.
Samsung Electronics Chairman Jae-yong Lee departed for the Sun Valley Conference in the US on July 7, marking his second straight year at the event as he looks to deepen AI cooperation with global tech giants. Industry watchers expect the trip to help Samsung expand its ties with major customers and partners.
Samsung Electronics has started mass production of its PM1763 enterprise SSD, a PCIe 6.0-based drive built for AI infrastructure and slated for Nvidia's next-generation Vera Rubin platform, expanding the company's AI memory strategy beyond HBM into high-performance server storage.
Samsung Electronics is using HBM4 to test whether its memory, logic, foundry, and advanced packaging businesses can finally work as one AI semiconductor platform, turning a broad portfolio into a clearer competitive weapon.
