"Mom, Buy Me a Foldable Phone" Could Be Costly... Prices Soaring to 4 Million Won

Chipflation Drives Up Memory Semiconductor Prices

Foldable Smartphones Expected to Launch at 3 to 4 Million Won

Due to rising memory semiconductor prices, a phenomenon known as "chipflation," there are forecasts that the prices of foldable smartphones scheduled for release in the second half of the year could soar to between 3 million and 4 million won.

On March 18, IT media outlets such as MacRumors predicted that Apple's first foldable smartphone, set to launch in the second half of the year, would be priced at around $2,320 (approximately 3.46 million won for the 256GB storage version). They reported that pricing and storage details for Apple's foldable smartphone had been leaked, and that the 1TB model, which offers the largest storage capacity, would be priced at around $2,900 (about 4.33 million won).

Expected appearance of the iPhone Fold model. Screenshot from MacRumors website

Samsung Electronics' foldable smartphone, also set for release in the second half of the year, is likewise expected to face a price increase. Samsung Electronics is preparing to launch the Galaxy Z Fold8 and Z Flip8. With a sharp rise in the price of DRAM, a key component, a price hike appears unavoidable. Given that last year's Galaxy Z Fold7 was priced about 150,000 won higher than its predecessor, this would mark the second consecutive year of price increases.

With chipflation, the proportion of memory semiconductor costs in the total manufacturing cost of smartphones is rising. According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, DRAM and NAND flash prices in the first quarter of this year surged by 50% and 90%, respectively, compared to the previous quarter. As a result, it is expected that DRAM and NAND flash will account for 23% and 18%, respectively, of the manufacturing cost of premium and flagship smartphone models. DRAM is used as the main memory in smartphones and other IT devices, with higher capacity enabling improved multitasking performance. NAND flash, which serves as auxiliary memory, is responsible for the device's storage capacity.

The extent of the price hikes is also a matter of industry interest. Xiang Hao Bai, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research, noted, "The surge in memory prices is having a structural impact on the cost of smartphone components," and analyzed, "This year, retail prices for smartphones are expected to inevitably rise, with entry-level models increasing by $30 (about 44,000 won) and premium flagships by $150 to $200 (about 220,000 to 290,000 won)." Samsung Electronics has already raised the domestic launch price of its Galaxy S26 series, released earlier this month, by between 99,000 won and 209,000 won compared to its predecessor, depending on the storage option.

In addition to memory semiconductors, the price of application processors (APs), which serve as the "brains" of smartphones, is also contributing to the price hikes for foldable smartphones. According to Samsung Electronics' annual report last year, AP procurement costs totaled 13.8272 trillion won, a 26.5% increase over 2024 (10.9326 trillion won). Samsung Electronics equipped all models of last year's Galaxy S25 series with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite AP, and with Qualcomm leveraging its dominant market share to raise AP prices, the cost burden has grown. It is estimated that APs make up about 30% of the total component cost of a smartphone.

However, there remains a possibility that some manufacturers may leverage chipflation as a strategic opportunity to launch competitively priced "value-for-money" phones. Apple, for example, set the price of the iPhone 17e, released this month, at the same 990,000 won as its predecessor. Given that the iPhone 17e doubled its base storage capacity compared to the previous model, some view this as effectively a price reduction.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.