Samsung Reportedly Becomes Apple’s Largest DRAM Supplier For iPhone 17 Series, Accounting For 60-70% Of Shipments, Including iPhone 18 Supply

Apple may be a trillion-dollar juggernaut, but it’s not immune to DRAM shortages, and with long-term agreements with Samsung and SK hynix said to expire early next year, the company will have to act quickly to avoid price increases. According to the latest reports, the Cupertino company has entered into a partnership with Samsung and, in the process, made Samsung its largest DRAM supplier, accounting for 60-70 percent of shipments that will not only be found in the existing iPhone 17 series, but also in next year’s iPhone 18 family.

While Apple would prefer to have more than one supplier to exercise better pricing leverage, Samsung is likely the only one that can produce DRAM based on the iPhone maker’s requirements.

Various iPhones feature DRAM chips from Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron, but future releases may only feature one supplier’s name for most shipments, at least according to the Korea Economic Daily. Although SK hynix holds a healthy position in Apple’s supply chain, the company is said to be focusing its production capacity on high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and Samsung was previously reported to have shifted its focus from HBM to DDR5 to maximize profits.

With the iPhone 18 series launching in the third quarter of next year and rumored to ship with six-channel LPDDR5X memory for improved bandwidth and AI performance, Samsung appears to be the only manufacturer that can maintain volume and quality for its most profitable customers. The report also suggests that ‘Apple’s specifications’ for DRAM are very strict and exceed JEDEC standards.

Additionally, chipsets such as the A19, A19 Pro, and next year’s A20 and A20 Pro do not allow for momentary voltage spikes. Samsung’s 12GB LPDDR5X chip is just 0.65mm thick, making it one of the thinnest components found in a mobile device, and with increased thermal resistance by 21.2 percent and reduced power consumption by 25 percent, Apple won’t think twice about choosing an alternative supplier thanks to the aforementioned attributes.

For Samsung, the current DRAM shortage is expected to contribute to the company’s annual operating profit of $73 billion by 2026, as the price of each 12 GB LPDDR5X RAM chip has increased from $30 at the start of the year to $70. Apple may be able to cover these costs by placing large orders for the iPhone 17 and iPhone 18 models, while saving on chip costs thanks to mass production of its own A-series SoCs and C2 5G modems.

News Source: Korean Economic Daily

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