"Memory prices rise 1% every day when you wake up."
The semiconductor price surge driven by the AI chip boom is affecting everyday electronics from notebooks to smartphones, adding to consumers' cost-of-living pressures.
According to Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) on the 16th, this year's new Galaxy Book6 Pro starts at 3.41 million won ($2,400), while the Galaxy Book6 Pro Ultra starts at 4.63 million won. The flagship model of the predecessor Galaxy Book5 Pro—with 16GB memory, 512GB SSD, and 16-inch display—was priced at 2.458 million won at launch. The comparable Galaxy Book6 Pro now sells for 3.41 million won, more than 1 million won higher. This represents approximately a 39% year-on-year increase.
LG Electronics (066570.KS) also raised the launch prices of its 2026 LG Gram main models by approximately 500,000 won compared to previous versions. The 2026 Gram Pro A1, released earlier this month, has a launch price of 3.14 million won. In contrast, the 2025 model with similar specifications had a launch price of 2.64 million won, representing approximately a 19% year-on-year increase.
Industry experts point to surging memory prices as the core reason for this round of notebook price hikes. TrendForce reported that general-purpose DRAM prices surged an average of 45-50% quarter-on-quarter in Q4 last year, and forecast a further 55-60% increase in Q1 this year. This is putting pressure on major smartphone brands to raise prices on new products.
According to another market research firm Omdia, the average selling price (ASP) of PC DRAM and solid-state drives (SSDs) in Q4 last year increased by up to 70% and 40%, respectively, compared to Q1 last year. Counterpoint Research projected that memory prices could rise an additional 40% through Q2.
Rising memory costs are reshaping the cost structure of finished products. Memory's share of manufacturing costs for smartphones and notebooks has reportedly grown from around 10% in the past to over 20% recently. Market research firms analyze that expanding demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI data centers is deprioritizing production of lower-end DRAM, making cost increases for electronics such as smartphones unavoidable.
