SK Hynix has overtaken Samsung in annual profit for the first time as both companies have warned of memory chip shortages through 2027 driven by AI demand.

Samsung (SSNLF) said Thursday it expects weak smartphone demand in the first quarter due to seasonal factors and memory supply and pricing pressures, while noting that the ongoing AI boom should support favorable conditions across the memory market.

By 2026, peak on-device AI performance is forecast to reach around 100 TOPS, with nearly 90% of premium smartphones supporting on-device AI. In contrast, many mid-range devices priced between $100 and $500 are expected to rely more heavily on cloud-based AI processing to control costs.

New information from China reveals that Radeon RX 9070 XT GPUs with Samsung memory are performing slower than expected. A Chinese reviewer, named “51972,” reported a significant performance drop in these GPUs that use GDDR6 memory chips from Samsung.

Samsung is raising memory chip prices—up to 20% for DDR4 and 5% for DDR5—in anticipation of looming US tariffs, with stockpiling already underway. As the world’s largest memory supplier, Samsung’s move could trigger industry-wide price hikes ...

Investors in Apple, HP, Dell and other major hardware manufacturers may be worried about the rising memory prices. The increase in the cost of memory and storage components is reportedly putting pressure on hardware makers as higher expenses risk hurting ...