alt Hacker NewsUsually, companies like Apple are largely to blame. [1]The memory market is said to be an oligopoly on the supply side, but Apple's low pricing and poor margins led to a halt in industry investment. In fact, there were reports in my country, Korea, that SK Hynix was cutting back on electricity usage.(during the downcycle, that is.)
The problem is that while AI has increased memory consumption and brought an upcycle, during the downcycle, mega-buyers like Apple caused various issues, and the production equipment that was scaled back during that time is now leading to supply shortages in the upcycle [2]. Apple fans probably won't admit it, though.
The memory industry itself has a characteristic where even a slight drop in demand causes prices to plummet, and even a slight shortage in supply causes prices to skyrocket. Elpida is a classic example. It's a structure where a company that loses in competition simply cannot survive by staying small.
[1] https://www.eetimes.com/apple-accused-of-nand-price-manipula...
[2] https://9to5mac.com/2026/06/25/micron-exec-suggests-apples-a...
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Seems like the problem is that Apple is so big it's putting the market under an unhealthy pressure. Kinda reminds my of big supermarket chains pressuring farmers to sell their stock with low to no margin by being the main buyers.
Seems very similar with Apple, using their closed technology to maintain an oligopoly position, which makes them able to pressure suppliers and perverse the market.
Explain how this works when their phones only capture roughly 20% market share, and their computers only 10%. That is to say nothing of the demand for server memory.
It seems like they only represent a fraction of the demand side, but wield an outsized influence over supply?
> Usually, companies like Apple are largely to blame
Just as a point of fact, Micron and its peers have in the past operated an illegal cartel that engaged in a price fixing conspiracy to manipulate the cost of RAM.
> mega-buyers like Apple caused various issues, and the production equipment that was scaled back during that time is now leading to supply shortages in the upcycle [2]. Apple fans probably won't admit it, though.
That's Micron's problem. Nobody held a gun to their heads and made them accept the prices Apple was offering. Micron willingly took those deals.
Any thoughts on the latest price fixing allegations?: https://en.sedaily.com/international/2026/06/29/samsung-sk-h...