TECH NEWS – The Cupertino tech giant may be paying a premium for memory in a move that could leave rivals facing painfully higher DRAM costs.

Apple is once again at the center of a story that makes the rest of the industry look distinctly uncomfortable. The accusation now circulating through the market is that the company is aggressively buying up available mobile DRAM at unusually high prices, not only to secure its own supply but also to make memory far more expensive for rival device makers. The claim stems from an industry allegation shared by Jukan on X and then amplified by WCCFTech.

The story gained traction because Ming-Chi Kuo had already argued that Apple could weather the current memory turmoil better than most by absorbing higher module costs and sacrificing part of its margin to keep device pricing steady. That idea looks even more intriguing after the company’s March launch of the MacBook Neo at just $599, a price point that suggests Apple is willing to push harder into lower-cost segments than usual. Seen from that angle, the notion that it is using its cash reserves to lock down supply does not sound entirely absurd.

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Apple is more aggressive this year than ever before. They’re buying up all available mobile DRAM on the market at extremely high prices, even at the cost of operating profit losses. This isn’t because Apple is being naive — they’re deliberately…

— Jukan (@jukan05) April 2, 2026

If the allegation holds up, this would be more than a defensive supply-chain move. It would amount to a brute-force attempt to suffocate the market by using scale and cash as weapons. According to the claim, Apple is willing to take an operating profit hit if that is what it takes to soak up mobile DRAM inventory, leaving competitors stuck with tighter supply, steeper prices, and less room to maneuver. In a market already strained by rising memory costs, that kind of tactic would hit especially hard.

There are also signs of fallout elsewhere in the chain. Industry reports say MediaTek and Qualcomm have reduced their 4nm mobile chip production pace, a cut that could amount to roughly 20,000 to 30,000 wafers, or around 15 to 20 million mobile processors. At the same time, Samsung has already raised prices in South Korea for several 512GB and 1TB models, including certain tablets as well as versions of the Galaxy S25 Edge, Galaxy Z Fold 7, and Galaxy Z Flip 7. So while Apple’s alleged intent remains unconfirmed, the broader pressure on the market is difficult to ignore.

During a January earnings call, Tim Cook said Apple was facing supply constraints tied mainly to advanced-node capacity, while rising memory costs were also beginning to pressure margins. From that perspective, securing supply aggressively makes perfect strategic sense. The unresolved question is whether this is merely a hard-nosed response to a broken supply chain, or a calculated effort to let competitors choke on the bill while Apple keeps marching ahead.

Source: WCCFTech