Samsung may cut Q4 smartphone output by up to 30% as AI-driven memory prices bite
Multiple IT and Korean media reports say Samsung's Mobile Experience business has asked component suppliers to trim shipments by 20%–30%, with fourth-quarter smartphone production possibly falling by as much as 30% because soaring memory prices, driven by AI demand, leave little profit in selling phones. The reports cite market data showing mobile LPDDR5X memory at roughly $145–146 per 12GB in Q2, up 175% year on year, with a further ~20% rise possible in Q3 toward $180; Samsung's first-half phone memory procurement costs reportedly jumped 211% on average while average selling prices rose only about 7%. Samsung had estimated 2026 smartphone output of 270 million units, but a Q4 cut could pull full-year shipments down to 220–230 million.
It shows how AI data-centre demand for memory is pushing costs onto consumer devices, prompting even a company that makes both memory and phones to cut output to protect margins.
三星電子傳出第四季大幅調降智慧手機產量，幅度最高可達三成，主因是 AI 需求推升記憶體價格，讓手機事業的成本壓力急遽升高，獲利空間明顯壓縮。
多家IT與韓媒消息，三星行動體驗事業群近期已要求零組件合作夥伴將供貨量下修20%~30%，外界推估，第四季手機生產量也同步減少最多三成。消息指出，記憶體與半導體價格持續上漲，使三星手機目前「賣了也幾乎沒有利潤」，因此選擇減產以守住整體獲利。