It's time for Apple to "splurge".

Amidst industry-wide challenges, Apple aggressively acquired the entire supply of DRAM memory chips, accepting higher costs to keep iPhone prices down and eliminate competitors.

Some experts believe Apple deliberately bought up all the RAM to make things difficult for its competitors. Photo: The Verge .

According to supply chain sources reported by The Chosun Ilbo on April 28, Apple began a campaign to procure the entire supply of mobile DRAM memory chips on the market earlier this month.

Specifically, the iPhone manufacturer has just signed massive DRAM purchase contracts with both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Notably, instead of bargaining to force down prices as it has traditionally done for the past decade, Apple this time accepted and approved any price offered by the chip manufacturers.

Sources reveal that the price of 12GB LPDDR5X RAM used in smartphones has skyrocketed from $25 at the beginning of 2025 to $70 , but Apple is still paying for it to clear out the stock.

While Samsung and Chinese manufacturers have been forced to raise retail prices to offset component costs, Apple has kept the price of the iPhone 17 unchanged. Even the iPhone 18 generation, expected to launch later this year, is rumored to have no price increase, or only a very small one.

According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is implementing a classic macroeconomic strategy. The tech giant is accepting declining hardware profit margins and bearing the cost of component inflation itself in order to maintain attractive prices.

In turn, the ultimate goal is to stifle the market share of competitors lacking chips, then compensate for lost profits through massive revenue from the iPhone's ecosystem of services.

If Apple's strategy is indeed to eliminate most competitors through price, then that's a very calculated move and could yield significant profits.

The Cupertino giant is gradually encroaching on the mid-range smartphone market with the iPhone 17e, and threatening the Windows laptop and Chromebook industry with the MacBook Neo.

By buying up all the RAM at high prices, they gain better control of the market, limiting the competitiveness of their rivals.

However, Apple must also carefully consider the current developments. If the memory shortage improves significantly in the short term, the company will suffer substantial losses without gaining any benefits.

Source: https://znews.vn/den-luc-apple-vung-tien-post1647281.html