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Physix Frontier · News Briefing Card (enbrief · Sep 26, 2026)

AI memory crunch hits phones: iPhone 17 up 800 yuan

KEY FACTS

  • The iPhone 17's starting price on Apple's China website rose from 5,999 yuan to 6,799 yuan, an increase of 800 yuan.
  • In March 2026, OPPO, vivo, OnePlus and other brands raised prices on already-released models, with many going up 500 yuan.
  • In September, Huawei's Mate 80 starting price rose from 4,699 yuan to 5,499 yuan, while Honor Magic8 went up 300 to 500 yuan.
  • The price of 12GB LPDDR5X memory modules is up about 230% from early 2025.
  • SK Hynix's Q2 2026 operating profit was about 60.54 trillion won, with an operating margin of 76%.

KEY DATA

800 yuaniPhone 17 starting price increase
230%12GB LPDDR5X memory price increase
76%SK Hynix Q2 operating margin
500 yuanOnePlus 15/OPPO K13 Turbo increase

PHYSIX OBSERVATION

The bottleneck in the AI compute race is shifting from chips to memory, as HBM squeezes capacity and tightens consumer DRAM supply. Phone makers repricing already-released models shows the cost pressure can no longer be absorbed internally. Users' upgrade costs are climbing, while memory capacity expansion takes years, so it is hard to say the price-hike cycle is over.

Source: enbrief original report ↗