We maintain listening to concerning the RAM/chip disaster that is triggered by heavy world investments in AI information facilities, that are consuming up provide and making costs go up by insane quantities within the course of, however what precise quantities are concerned for smartphone makers? How way more are they paying?
That is what Xiaomi President Lu Weibing has revealed on Weibo at present. Based on him, for a package deal of 12GB of RAM plus 512GB of storage, the corporate is now paying CNY 1,500 ($217) greater than within the first quarter of final yr (January to March).
Redmi K90 Professional Max
That is not $217 per RAM/storage package deal, it is $217 greater than earlier than. And it’s, in fact, completely insane. Moreover, what it is paying at present is outwardly nearly 4 instances greater than in 2025.
With some fast math utilized, we are able to verify that final yr, Xiaomi was paying round $72 for a similar package deal, and the value it is truly paying at present is about $288. That is the value of a lower-midrange telephone!
So it is going to come as no shock to you then that Xiaomi has introduced that it should make the Redmi K90 Professional Max costlier from April 11, however by simply CNY 200 ($29), which implies the corporate continues to be swallowing many of the RAM/storage appreciation. It should additionally cancel ongoing promos for the Redmi Turbo 5 and Turbo 5 Max. All of those hikes solely apply to the Chinese language market, the place the corporate has the bottom margins on Redmi gadgets.
It is unclear if we should always count on additional worth hikes internationally, but when the costs for RAM and storage modules maintain going up, it is most likely a matter of when, not if.
Supply (in Chinese language)
