Despite continued upward momentum in memory contract prices, smartphone brands are maintaining healthy inventory levels to manage cash flow risks. On the market front, robust AI server demand has prompted Korean and US suppliers to tighten full-year allocations for smartphone clients, leaving consumer supply constraints unlikely to ease in the near term. Korean suppliers' 2Q26 quotes for LPDDR4X, LPDDR5X, and UFS remain sharply elevated, though the pace of price hikes is expected to moderate in 2H26. Elevated costs are eroding brand profitability and pushing up retail prices, with global smartphone production projected to decline over 10% YoY in 2026. Under this pressure, brand strategy divergence is intensifying, and significant shifts in market share are anticipated this year.

Key Highlights

• Amid record-high memory contract prices, smartphone brands have adopted a more conservative material procurement strategy. Mobile DRAM and NAND Flash inventory levels are being maintained at healthy levels, with brands no longer aggressively pursuing inventory buildup.
• Squeezed by robust AI server demand, the three major Korean and US suppliers are reassessing their full-year supply plans for smartphone clients. There is a risk of further tightening in Mobile DRAM and NAND allocations in 2H26 and for the full year.
• Korean suppliers have finalized their 2Q26 quotes for smartphone DRAM and NAND. Price hikes for LPDDR4X and LPDDR5X have widened compared to last quarter; however, the upward momentum is expected to moderate in the second half of the year.
• Impacted by soaring memory prices, the total global smartphone production volume for 2026 is projected to fall back to the "one-billion-unit threshold."
• Divergence in brand strategies is intensifying, with significant shifts in market share expected this year.

Table of Contents

1. Updates on Smartphone Memory Inventories
   • Changes in Inventory Levels
2. Updates on Smartphone Memory Prices
   • Annual ASP Trends of Mobile DRAM/UFS in 2026
3. Updates on Smartphone Market

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