Apple's Price Pressure on CXMT Stalls, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix Gain DRAM Bargaining Power
TechFlow News, August 5, according to Korean media DigitalDaily, Apple recently failed to push for further price reductions during negotiations with Chinese CXMT regarding supply prices for mobile DRAM such as LPDDR5X. The report stated that, supported by demand from local Chinese customers, CXMT insisted on quotation levels similar to or even higher than Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, limiting Apple's room to reduce procurement costs by leveraging Chinese suppliers.
The report indicated that as major storage manufacturers continue to shift capacity towards high-value-added AI storage products such as High Bandwidth Memory, the supply of general-purpose DRAM is tightening, further exacerbating market supply-demand imbalance. Against this backdrop, Chinese manufacturers are no longer acting as low-price alternatives, but instead supporting the price floor of general-purpose DRAM to a certain extent, thereby further enhancing the bargaining power of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix in subsequent negotiations with global customers.
