Apple Tightens Grip on LPDDR5 Memory, Squeezing Chinese Smartphone Makers

Apple is aggressively reinforcing its position in the LPDDR5 mobile memory market, industry sources say, even as a global DRAM shortage squeezes smartphone makers. At a recent earnings call, the company made it clear that the real bottleneck for its products is TSMC’s advanced process capacity—not memory supply. That statement landed with extra weight given reports that Apple has been buying up enormous volumes of available mobile DRAM.

Estimates suggest this year’s iPhones could gobble up around 2.4 exabytes of memory, yet Apple appears unfazed. Supply chain whispers had already hinted that the company was snapping up virtually all the mobile DRAM it could get—not just to cover its own production plans, but to make life harder for rivals. Analysts at Daishin Securities later lent some credibility to that view, noting that Apple likely stockpiled memory while simultaneously raising its iPhone shipment target to 240 million units.

Fresh reports now indicate that Apple, along with Samsung, is effectively “clearing out” the LPDDR market by locking in long-term agreements with major memory suppliers. At the same time, Apple is working to hold device prices steady for as long as possible. When a price hike becomes unavoidable, the company is said to be willing to cut back on base configurations while keeping higher-end models attractively priced.

The situation is becoming increasingly difficult for Chinese manufacturers. Rising component costs have pushed the bill of materials for some ultra-flagship phones to as much as $917, making them far less competitive against the iPhone. According to insider Schrödinger, several Chinese brands are now considering abandoning ultra-flagship models altogether, as launching such devices has simply become too risky and expensive.

The pain is especially acute in China, where Apple has already scored a major success with the iPhone 17 series. The lineup reportedly racked up around 20 million activations in the country, with roughly half coming from the iPhone 17 Pro Max. This makes it clear that at current price levels, Chinese brands are finding it harder and harder to go toe-to-toe with Apple in the premium segment.

If the trend holds, Apple could turn the memory shortage into a strategic weapon. By controlling LPDDR5 supply, dominating the premium tier, and keeping prices in check, the company may carve out even more room in a market where Chinese rivals increasingly struggle with unsustainable flagship costs.