With the AI boom sweeping the globe and the three major memory manufacturers ramping up production, the cost of smartphone memory is teetering on the brink of spiraling out of control. To address this impact and solidify its position in the massive Chinese market, Qualcomm is reportedly collaborating with China's Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) to develop customized DRAM. Facing recent supply chain and logistical disruptions caused by AI production capacity constraints and war-related disruptions, even Samsung is struggling to withstand the pressure of rising smartphone prices. Qualcomm's move is clearly aimed at finding a solution for its Chinese customers, ensuring that mid-range and entry-level smartphones do not lose competitiveness due to soaring memory costs, thereby maintaining its processor market share.
The AI boom and the shadow of war have led to a surge in the cost of mobile phone memory.
The mobile phone market is currently facing a severe wave of "cost inflation." First, the explosion of the AI industry has led to a surge in demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM) and high-end server memory. The three major memory suppliers, Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix, have all agreed to prioritize allocating their production capacity to the more profitable AI field, resulting in a tight supply of mobile memory and soaring prices.
Secondly, wars and geopolitical conflicts around the world have severely impacted the supply stability of key materials in many supply chains and international transportation and logistics resources. Under this double blow, the cost of mobile phone components has risen sharply.
It is estimated that the cost of memory and storage components alone currently accounts for more than half of the total cost of an entry-level smartphone's bill of materials (BOM). This extreme cost structure has forced many mobile phone brands to announce price increases, even Samsung, which has its own memory production capacity.It's also difficult to avoid the fate of mobile phone price increases..
SCOOP: According to JoongAng Ilbo, Qualcomm is developing custom mobile memory with China's CXMT.
*Qualcomm did not respond to JoongAng Ilbo's request for comment. https://t.co/6kWIuIKWRL pic.twitter.com/Zuq5mKDkaK
— Jukan (@jukan05) April 11, 2026
Partnering with Changxin Memory: While the technology may not be cutting-edge, it's a timely boost to stabilize the entry-level market.
To address the massive demand in the Chinese market and avoid a general increase in mobile phone prices that could negatively impact its processor sales, Qualcomm has chosen to deepen its cooperation with Changxin Memory Technologies, a local Chinese company.
According to a report by the South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo, Qualcomm is developing customized memory with Changxin Memory Technologies Co., Ltd. In fact, Qualcomm revealed in its earnings call in February that while most mobile phone brand customers source their own memory, Changxin Memory Technologies was already one of the suppliers that had "early obtained Qualcomm memory supply certification." This makes the rumor of further collaboration between the two companies to develop customized DRAM even more credible.
Although the industry generally believes that Changxin Memory is still lagging behind Samsung, Micron and SK Hynix in terms of process technology and technology nodes, in the Android ecosystem (especially in the Chinese market) where mid-priced and entry-level models account for a large share of sales, this type of relatively mature and price-competitive memory is exactly what brand manufacturers need most right now.
Analysis of viewpoints
Qualcomm's recent collaboration with Changxin Memory to jointly develop customized DRAM actually implies three levels of strategic and market analysis:
Chip giants' "defensive ecosystem" strategy: countering MediaTek's cost-effective offensive.
The battle between Qualcomm and MediaTek in the low-to-mid-range market has always been fierce. When memory costs skyrocket, mobile phone manufacturers are often forced to cut budgets on processors (for example, downgrading from Qualcomm to cheaper MediaTek chips) in order to maintain the selling price of their devices. Qualcomm's collaboration with Changxin Memory Technologies effectively addresses the pain point of "too expensive memory" for its Chinese customers. As long as the overall BOM cost is controlled, it means that customers can continue to purchase Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors. This is an extremely clever "defense strategy."
A trend of "polarization decoupling" is taking shape in the memory market:
This collaboration suggests a dual-track supply chain for smartphone memory. Flagship models (such as AI phones) will continue to rely on the latest LPDDR5X/LPDDR6 memory from the three major manufacturers; while mid-range and entry-level models will largely shift to using mature process memory from Chinese suppliers like Changxin Memory. This "supply chain decoupling" between the high-end and low-end markets is expected to become more pronounced in the coming years.
Localized supply hedging strategies:
Faced with escalating geopolitical tensions between the US and China and potential trade sanctions, Qualcomm must comply with regulations while serving its largest single market as much as possible. Changxin Memory, a leading Chinese memory chip company, has benefited from Qualcomm's proactive approach of customized development and underlying certification. This not only significantly shortens the product development cycle for Chinese brand customers but also demonstrates Qualcomm's support for a "localized supply chain" in the Chinese market. This has both significant political and commercial benefits in consolidating its foothold in China.
