---
title: "AI’s memory crunch just killed a phone. Even Apple flinched."
url: https://daily.dev/posts/ai-s-memory-crunch-just-killed-a-phone-even-apple-flinched--6iagrntja
source_url: https://thenextweb.com/news/ai-memory-crunch-nothing-phone-apple-unsustainable
type: article
source: "The Next Web"
published: 2026-06-19T14:51:42.869Z
updated: 2026-06-19T15:09:10.414Z
tags: ["apple", "nvidia", "gpu"]
reading_time: 3
upvotes: 0
comments: 0
language: en
---

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# AI’s memory crunch just killed a phone. Even Apple flinched.

**[The Next Web](https://daily.dev/sources/tnw)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

AI's insatiable demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is causing a ripple effect across the consumer electronics market. Nothing has cancelled its CMF Phone 3 Pro because memory prices make a budget device unviable. Apple's Tim Cook called the situation 'unsustainable' and price hikes are expected, while the cheapest Mac mini has already been discontinued. DRAM prices rose ~90% in a single quarter, HBM capacity is sold out into 2027, and Nvidia has locked in multi-year supply deals. Memory chip makers like Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are converting production lines to HBM because it earns far more per wafer than consumer DRAM. Entry-level phones have jumped over 50% in price, and global smartphone shipments are forecast to fall 15% in 2026 — the first such decline in years.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://thenextweb.com/news/ai-memory-crunch-nothing-phone-apple-unsustainable>

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Tags: [#apple](https://daily.dev/tags/apple), [#nvidia](https://daily.dev/tags/nvidia), [#gpu](https://daily.dev/tags/gpu)

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