A RAM shortage forced Apple to sharply raise the prices of its devices last week, with some devices costing tens of thousands of ringgit more. Artificial intelligence (AI) data centers have been blamed for RAM prices having more than quadrupled since October last year.
But over the weekend, Micron's Chief Business Officer Sumit Sadana hinted that Apple was contributing to the current high RAM price crisis. In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, Sadana said Micron's revenue fell sharply during the industry downturn as some customers pushed down prices, which prevented investment in capacity. Industry investment has stalled in 2023, he said, due to "very poor" prices and margins.
Although Apple was not named, they are among Micron's major customers, supplying DRAM and NAND for iPhones, iPads and Macs. Apple is known for long-term negotiations that give them lower prices.
The post-Covid RAM glut caused memory prices to plummet three years ago. All of the world's major RAM manufacturers such as Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron recorded losses of billions of ringgit at that time. But now demand far exceeds production capacity to the point where there are reports that manufacturers can raise prices by up to 100% and still be bought by customers.
All the world's electronic device manufacturers have been raising the prices of their products since early 2026. At the same time, it also resulted in ASUS and CMF by Nothing not releasing new products due to failure to obtain RAM supplies. The RAM crisis is only expected after 2027 when several new RAM production plants start operating.
