Samsung is about to become Apple’s go-to memory supplier again, and yes, the ongoing memory shortage is to blame here.
According to a report from South Korea, Apple is reportedly placing a massive order for Samsung memory chips for the iPhone 18 series because Apple’s current suppliers (SK Hynix and Micron) are focusing more on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production used in data centers rather than the LPDDR memory it uses for iPhones.
If you are unaware, high-bandwidth memory is in huge demand thanks to AI accelerators from companies like NVIDIA. And it’s not just demand, but these AI companies are also paying extra to secure the deal of HBMs to be used in their data centers.
As a result, memory makers are shifting production away from low-power LPDDR memory and toward HBM that goes into servers. And that shift is now squeezing Apple and every other smartphone maker, for that matter.
Samsung to the rescue
That leaves Samsung as Apple’s most reliable option. According to the report, Samsung is expected to secure around 60 to 70 percent of Apple’s memory chip orders for the iPhone 18 lineup.
Apple ships roughly 230 million iPhones every year and demands both price stability and guaranteed supply at scale. With SK Hynix and Micron prioritizing higher-margin AI memory, Samsung is now the only supplier with the capacity and willingness to meet those requirements.
There’s also a hint of déjà vu here. More than a decade ago, during Apple and Samsung’s high-profile patent battles, Apple deliberately reduced its dependence on Samsung and shifted more memory orders to SK Hynix. Now, with market dynamics flipped, Samsung is once again emerging as Apple’s go-to partner.
That doesn’t mean Samsung will handle everything. Around 30 to 40 percent of Apple’s memory orders are still expected to be split between SK Hynix and Micron, allowing Apple to maintain its long-standing multi-supplier strategy.
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