OPPO and vivo Reject Samsung's Q3 Memory Pricing | First Public Downstream Pushback in Memory Price Cycle, But Supply Crunch Unchanged
TL;DR
OPPO and vivo rejected Samsung's Q3 2026 memory chip pricing — the first downstream pushback this cycle, though the memory supply crunch continues.
Jiemian News citing industry sources: OPPO and vivo recently rejected Samsung's Q3 2026 memory pricing — the increase over their Q1 and Q2 pricing was moderate, but both handset OEMs said no. This is the first time in this pricing cycle a downstream brand has publicly refused Samsung's terms.
The pricing structure has drifted out of range. DRAM and NAND have been rising since H2 2025 on AI data center demand; by Q2 2026 mobile memory unit prices hit a 5-year high. Handset OEMs can't push through matching MSRP hikes fast enough, and margins are being squeezed by upstream — Samsung's own Galaxy Z Fold8/Flip8 launched today also carries a price hike attributed to memory costs.
Signaling has limits. Analysts note that even if OPPO and vivo reject and slow their inventory replenishment, mobile memory supply-demand imbalance won't reverse in the near term — data center priority is too high, both Samsung and Hynix are steering capacity to AI customers first. This move looks more like Q4 negotiation pre-pressure than a genuine Q3 price haircut.
via ITHome / Jiemian
The pricing structure has drifted out of range. DRAM and NAND have been rising since H2 2025 on AI data center demand; by Q2 2026 mobile memory unit prices hit a 5-year high. Handset OEMs can't push through matching MSRP hikes fast enough, and margins are being squeezed by upstream — Samsung's own Galaxy Z Fold8/Flip8 launched today also carries a price hike attributed to memory costs.
Signaling has limits. Analysts note that even if OPPO and vivo reject and slow their inventory replenishment, mobile memory supply-demand imbalance won't reverse in the near term — data center priority is too high, both Samsung and Hynix are steering capacity to AI customers first. This move looks more like Q4 negotiation pre-pressure than a genuine Q3 price haircut.
via ITHome / Jiemian