The Wall Street Journal says Apple is qualifying CXMT DRAM for iPhones and MacBooks. Export rules bar the spec work Apple normally does with a supplier.
HBM stacks for AI accelerators outbid the DRAM in phones and laptops. Qualcomm, Roku and Google have all repriced, and IDC sees PC prices up 18.3% this year.
Tim Cook told the WSJ that Apple price rises are unavoidable as an AI-driven memory crunch quadruples DRAM and NAND costs across every consumer device.
Nintendo confirmed a $50 Switch 2 price increase effective September 1 in the US, citing market conditions. The DRAM shortage caused by AI buildouts is the trigger.
DDR5 contract prices jumped 100% since 2025, HBM is eating 23% of DRAM wafers, and the fabs that could fix it don't come online until 2028. Here's the shape of the crunch.