Buying a new phone? The cost to upgrade is only going to get worse, Samsung warns

The global memory chip shortage isn't going to be resolved any time soon, Samsung warns. The South Korean tech firm — which produces roughly a third of the world's memory chips — said during its Q2 earnings call that the shortage will actually get worse through 2027, with tight supply conditions sticking around until at least 2028. The crisis, which many in the industry have taken to calling "the RAMaggedon," is being fuelled by the enormous appetite for memory chips from Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies. This high-bandwidth memory needed to power AI data centres is gobbling up so much manufacturing capacity that there's very little left over for the chips that go into your phone, laptop, or games console. Jaejune Kim, head of sales and marketing for memory, said: "We believe it will be unlikely to see any significant increase in incremental supply through 2028. "Based on the incoming requests that we have been seeing from the customers, unmet demand from this year is likely to carry over into the following year, contributing to tighter supply conditions going forward.” And it's already hitting everyone's wallets — with you needing to dig a bit deeper if you want to upgrade your phone or laptop. Samsung has already bumped up prices on its recently released Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra as a result. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 ships with either 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of built-in storage. Prices start from £1,699. For comparison, that's £100 less than the starting price of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 when it launched last year. It's also £200 cheaper than the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. Apple has been forced to do the same, raising prices on MacBooks such as its newest MacBook Neo and iPads last month. A higher price point on its upcoming iPhones and rumoured AirPods in September remains to be seen. Gaming hasn't been spared either. The PlayStation 5 , Xbox Series X/S , and Switch 2 have all seen price increases — some more than once. For instance, you'll now need to pay £569.99 for the standard PS5 with a disc drive – nearly 19% more than its current price of £479.99. It was released with a price of £449 when it first made its debut in the UK in 2020. LATEST DEVELOPMENTS WhatsApp updates change how millions message in group chats US bans robot vacuums from Dyson, iRobot, Shark, and more — could the UK be next? Your private conversations with AI may have leaked on Google — check NOW Powerful AI 'will dodge safety measures to cheat exams', UK watchdog sounds alarm over ChatGPT and Claude According to Morgan Stanley, the price of a single gigabyte of RAM has jumped from $2.80 (£2) in 2025 to a staggering $12 (£9) in 2026 — a 5x increase. It's worth noting that Samsung is doing rather well out of all this. Its semiconductor division posted record-breaking sales in the second quarter, even as its smartphone and TV arms saw profits shrink because of those very same rising chip costs. In terms of supply expectations after 2028, Mr Kim says it's difficult to know. "Beyond 2029, it is hard to say because of more limited visibility." Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter