Android

Your next phone might have more RAM as AI-fueled shortage persists through 2027

Ben Schoon | Jan 27 2026 - 9:15 am PT

The ongoing memory (RAM) shortage has wide-reaching effects, but that’s not stopping new smartphones from apparently adding more RAM than prior generations, a new report states.

AI is hungry for a lot of resources, but memory is one of the biggest, and it’s led to a scramble for everything to need more RAM. As such, there’s been a huge shortage of memory in the tech industry, leading to prices jumping and shortages as production simply cannot keep up with demand.

That’s not stopping anytime soon, ETNews says.

In a report, the Korean publication notes that forecasts suggest the ongoing DRAM shortage will continue “until next year” at least, with problems persisting through 2027. That’s in part due to a lack of supply and production capacity. Samsung, for instance, is looking to expand its production facility, but is focused on “High Bandwidth Memory” that is used in larger AI applications versus consumer-focused devices. Meanwhile, China-based CXMT is looking to expand production, but is focused on the Chinese market rather than the global one, meaning there will still be a shortage of memory.

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Despite this, demand is still rising, and estimated to be around 23% higher in 2026 (via @Jukanlosreve). That’s mostly because, while data centers, automobiles, and smartphones, among other devices, are looking to add more memory per device compared to prior years. Data centers are looking at a 25% jump, automobiles a 36% jump, and smartphones around 16%. PCs would also apparently go up by 15%.

In other words, your next smartphone is probably going to have a bit more RAM, all thanks to the continued focus on “on-device AI,” the report brings out.

In most devices, that not a huge difference, but assuming we’re talking about 16% being an average, it could be that more flagship smartphones jump from 8GB or 12GB of RAM up to 16GB, with fewer budget-focused devices equipped with 4GB of RAM and instead moving to 6GB or 8GB setups. That’s speculation on our part, of course, but the report’s claim of memory allotments in smartphones certainly makes a lot of sense. Google, for instance, has been equipping Pixel phones with more RAM than other devices at the same price point for the sake of on-device AI capabilities.

With the price volatility in memory right now, though, that focus on adding more RAM to your next smartphone might also end up driving up the cost, something our Will Sattelberg brought out over the weekend.