Hoping for a decrease in smartphone prices? The CEO of Nothing has some discouraging news for you.

      Carl Pei is closely involved in this matter, and the RAM shortage he mentions is indeed real, with price increases already impacting phones available for purchase today.

      If you have been postponing buying a new phone in hopes of better prices, possibly waiting for discounts on models released in the first quarter of the year, Nothing’s co-founder Carl Pei has a straightforward message: don't wait any longer.

      In a post on X, Pei articulated how 2026 is transforming smartphone pricing in unprecedented ways. Unsurprisingly, the main factor is a component that now accounts for over 50% of the overall hardware cost.

      Why is RAM suddenly leading the surge in phone prices?

      Pei notes that memory or RAM has become the priciest hardware component in smartphones.

      A few years ago, OLED displays, chipsets, or camera modules competed for this distinction. In budget smartphones, it was the high refresh rate AMOLED display, while in flagship devices, it was often the chipset or camera module.

      However, as of 2026, memory has taken the lead. Pei states that memory has now surpassed the costs of chipsets and displays. The reason, as many are aware, is the global boom in AI.

      Data centers constructing AI infrastructure are consuming memory chips at such a rapid pace that it is tightening the supply for all others, including the leading smartphone brands worldwide.

      In a candid reflection, Pei used his own company's experience as a clear illustration.

      For the Nothing Phone (4a), the cost of memory doubled between the approval stage and the launch, and it has doubled again since then. Such a price hike significantly impacts the financial viability during the product cycle.

      Pei cautions that phone prices will keep rising into 2027. “If you've been waiting to upgrade, the optimal time was yesterday,” he emphasized, highlighting the daily increase in smartphone prices.

      The surge in RAM prices may not stabilize this year, which is also why the end-of-year sales season might not feature the discounts that consumers have grown accustomed to in previous years.

      We've been witnessing flagship and mid-range models debuting at elevated prices, entry-level smartphones experiencing price increases of $100 or more, and brands eliminating entry-level versions of their smartphones or compact PCs (such as the Mac mini). It appears that the pricing pressure will persist.

      For over five years, Shikhar has effectively conveyed advancements in consumer technology and presented them in a simplified manner…

      Galaxy S25 users are finally receiving some previously absent One UI 8.5 AI features.

      The features of Prioritize Notifications, Summarize Notifications, and File Summaries are now available on the Galaxy S25, although the Now Nudge feature is still not included.

      Last month, Samsung released the One UI 8.5 update for the Galaxy S25 series, but users quickly noticed that several AI features available in the Galaxy S26 series were missing. This led to confusion and frustration among Galaxy S25 owners, who questioned the extent of Samsung’s long-term software support.

      Now, Samsung appears to be addressing part of this issue with the June 2026 update, which reportedly brings back three missing Galaxy AI features to the Galaxy S25 series. The update has begun rolling out in South Korea and contains the June 2026 Android security patch. The firmware is identified by build number S938NKSUACZF1.

      Samsung is currently testing One UI 9 with Galaxy S26 beta users, and a newly spotted feature in the latest build feels long overdue: the network speed indicator. This simple status bar tool is common on other Android devices, making it surprising that Galaxy phones have lacked it for so long.

      This feature is even present on budget Android phones from brands like OnePlus, Oppo, and Xiaomi. It provides real-time upload and download activity in the status bar while the phone is connected to Wi-Fi or mobile data, allowing users an easy way to monitor their connection's data activity.

      Scammers have exploited Gemini AI to conduct a large-scale phishing operation, leading Google to file a lawsuit against them.

      That dubious text about an unpaid toll, a delayed package delivery, or expiring rewards may no longer be just from a single scammer. These fraudulent messages have inundated American phones for years, but a shift has occurred.

      Google states that artificial intelligence is enabling criminals to execute larger and more persuasive operations than before. The company has filed a lawsuit against a cybercrime network that utilized Gemini AI to generate phishing websites and power a widespread scam campaign targeting millions of individuals.