NVIDIA's architectural design changes with its new Vera Rubin GPUs will consume a significant proportion of global memory resources this year, when such resources are already in short supply, worsening the memory crunch for all smartphone OEMs, including giants such as Apple and Samsung. These firms would likely have to raise the prices of their 2026-launching smartphones to compensate for the ongoing price-led demand destruction in the memory sphere, as per a new note from KeyBanc.
NVIDIA's Vera Rubin AI GPUs to consume memory resources that equal 10 percent of the global smartphone market
NVIDIA has implemented a number of AI-critical design changes in its new Vera Rubin AI GPUs, which serve to further restrict the already-constrained global memory market and create far-reaching turbulence even for some of the globe's industrial titans such as Apple and Samsung.
AI query processing creates a huge temporary memory log for context building purposes, aptly called the KV Cache. For NVIDIA's AI systems, this memory log is currently stored within the high bandwidth memory (HBM) modules. However, with its Vera Rubin AI GPUs, NVIDIA is implementing a new solution, called the Inference Memory Context Storage (ICMS), which will act as a dedicated memory resource for the KV Cache.
As we noted in a dedicated post recently, this solution means NVIDIA could pack around 16 TB of NAND per GPU in a rack, which equates to 1,152 TB in a single NVL72 configuration.
Now, KeyBanc has added additional color to this critical context by noting that NVIDIA's new AI GPUs could consume as much memory this year as between 100 million to 150 million smartphones, equating to around 10 percent of the global smartphone market:
"NVIDIA’s (NVDA) latest Vera CPU utilizes 1.5TB of memory—up from Grace’s 512GB—implying that NVIDIA will require 20 billion gigabits (Gb) of memory this year. This consumption is equivalent to 100–150 million smartphones, or just under 10% of the total smartphone market."
Apple and Samsung in the eye of the memory maelstrom
These dynamics are worsening the overall situation even for tech titans such as Apple and Samsung. For instance, we reported recently that while Apple has secured access to sufficient NAND resources through the first quarter of 2026, KIOXIA was expected to raise its pricing for Apple once a long-term NAND supply agreement is signed, as per an assessment by Morgan Stanley.
Of course, DRAM constitutes an even bigger bottleneck for Apple, especially as Apple had previously secured access to DRAM under very favorable long-term contracts. As such, Morgan Stanley now expects Apple to secure access to DRAM resources through Q1 2026 only with a sequential price hike of over 50 percent.
To make matters worse, Apple is experiencing upheaval within other sections of its sprawling supply chain. According to a new Nikkei Asia report, the Cupertino giant is reportedly struggling to secure sufficient supplies of high-end glass fiber cloth (T-glass).
For the benefit of those who might not be aware, a substrate serves as the base on which Integrated Circuits (ICs) and other components are placed, while also playing a critical role in heat dissipation.
A T-glass, on the other hand, is a special fiberglass with a high silica content that is often used within the substrate for microchips, providing a myriad of benefits, including better thermal stability, a flatter surface for intricate wiring, and higher reliability.
Apple purchases almost all of its T-glass from Japan's Nitto Boseki (Nittobo). However, AI-related demand has reportedly exhausted Nittobo's existing supply capacity, forcing Apple to directly approach the Japanese government for assistance in securing enough T-glass supply. The Cupertino giant is also trying to secure its T-glass from alternative sources, including Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, which also relies on Nittobo's T-glass. In the interim, Apple is reportedly mulling using a lower-quality T-glass, but such a move would require extensive prior testing.
Interestingly, even Samsung, which produces its own memory, is not immune to the ongoing demand-destruction-via-price-hikes dynamics in the memory sphere. As per anecdotal reports, Samsung's DS division, which produces memory chips, has agreed to provide those chips to Samsung's MX mobile division only at price hikes of around 60 percent to 70 percent. The situation has prompted Samsung to raise the price of its upcoming Galaxy S26 series by between $30 and $60 in select regions, including its home market of South Korea.
On the whole, given the fact that memory accounts for around 20 percent of a given smartphone's Bill of Materials (BOM), KeyBanc analysts believe that OEMs like Samsung and Apple "may need to raise handset prices by $100–$150, which could negatively weigh on demand."
About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.
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