The explosive demand for high-speed, high-capacity memory from the AI industry is directly accelerating the iteration of storage technology. Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have officially launched DDR6 R&D, aiming for commercialization by 2028 to seize the commanding heights of the next-generation storage market. Before the rollout of DDR6, the prices of mainstream products such as DDR5 and LPDDR have continued to surge, becoming the core engine of profit growth for storage manufacturers.
The price increase of LPDDR in the mobile sector has been particularly rapid. In the first quarter of 2026, the price of mainstream LPDDR5X increased by 58%-63% quarter-on-quarter, while the contract price of LPDDR5 remained stable at around $10 per GB, a three-fold increase compared to the first quarter of 2025. Analysts predict that this upward trend will continue until 2027. Behind the price surge is an extreme imbalance between supply and demand: the demand for LPDDR from AI phones, foldable phones, and AI servers is surging, while capacity expansion is limited, and inventory levels are far below safety levels, resulting in a situation of "high prices but no market, and a severe shortage of chips" in the industry chain.
Faced with volatile price conditions, storage manufacturers and end customers have adjusted their procurement strategies, with long-term agreements (LTAs) becoming the industry consensus. Currently, mainstream industry contracts set a price range of $500-$1350 for 64GB memory modules, translating to a price ceiling of $21 and a floor of $7.8 per GB. Based on a base price of $10 per GB, the cost of LPDDR5 modules will rise to $19.3-$19.8 per GB in the second quarter of 2026, close to the upper limit of the contract price. This compresses the potential for further price increases to around 8.8%, providing mobile phone manufacturers struggling with cost pressures with some expectation of price stability.
