Samsung Announced That Memory Chip Shortage Will Last Until 2028

The shortage of RAM chips in the global market is not expected to be resolved in the coming years. The situation is projected to worsen in 2027, with supply disruptions continuing until at least 2028. Representatives of Samsung, which produces and supplies nearly one-third of the world's memory chips, announced this forecast. This situation is causing price increases and supply chain disruptions across the entire technology market, according to Techcrunch.com reports.

According to ixbt.com, during its second-quarter earnings call, Samsung stated that leading AI laboratories are directly providing medium- and long-term demand forecasts to the Korean tech giant to secure the necessary infrastructure. The high demand caused by the AI boom allows the company to prioritize customers willing to sign long-term contracts.

New industry trends

Such multi-year visibility allows the manufacturer to install new equipment and scale up production without worrying about a sharp drop in demand. As a result, historical cyclical fluctuations in the memory industry are being prevented. However, the memory shortage caused by the AI boom has led to a sharp increase in chip prices in recent months.

This situation turned out to be a double-edged sword for Samsung. Although the semiconductor division's sales reached record highs in the second quarter, the profitability of the smartphone and TV divisions declined because expensive chips increased component costs. The company was forced to pass some of the costs on to consumers by raising the prices of Galaxy smartphones and tablets, which in turn led to a decrease in demand for these devices.

General market situation and impact

Unofficially dubbed "RAMaggedon," this shortage has also affected Samsung's main competitor, Apple. Last month, Apple raised the prices of its MacBook, Mac, and iPad devices. The company also announced a lower revenue growth forecast for the upcoming quarter during its latest earnings call.

As memory manufacturers redirect their capacity from consumer electronics to AI data centers, buyers are facing higher device prices. In particular, NVIDIA consumer graphics cards are expected to increase in price by 20-30 percent. This, in turn, may lead to further price hikes for gaming rigs, PCs, consoles, and laptops.