Nothing has canceled its upcoming budget-friendly phone, and the issue is more significant than you might realize.

      RAM has become the priciest component in your upcoming phone, with budget smartphones experiencing the highest cost increases.

      Recently, Nothing decided to cancel the upcoming CMF Phone, and this decision is unrelated to the phone's features.

      Akis Evangelidis, the co-founder of the company, confirmed on X that CMF will not introduce a new phone this year, pointing to the escalating memory crisis that seems to worsen daily.

      So, what happened with the anticipated CMF Phone?

      The CMF Phone 2 Pro, which launched in April 2025, was priced at $279 in the US, and I considered it one of the most valuable Android phones available at that time.

      Following the typical yearly schedule, consumers anticipated a new model this year. While the company was developing a successor, it was unable to create "a phone that feels like a real advancement at a cost that is reasonable for CMF."

      In a response to a comment on his post on X, Evangelidis stated that if the CMF Phone 2 Pro were released today with the same specs, it would range from $320 to $370. The successor, featuring upgraded hardware, would have an even higher price.

      Many of you have been inquiring about the release of the next CMF phone, and as always, we prefer to be transparent. We were immensely proud of the CMF Phone 2 Pro. It won the Budget Phone of the Year award from MKBHD, and the positive feedback from everyone made it even more meaningful. We...— Akis Evangelidis (@AkisEvangelidis) June 19, 2026

      How might this affect your upcoming smartphone purchase?

      Prices for DRAM and NAND have surged significantly due to supply issues and the massive demand for memory from AI data centers.

      Nothing's CEO, Carl Pei, publicly warned last week that memory now comprises over 50% of a smartphone's overall hardware cost, making it even more costly than the processor and display.

      For context, Nothing is a smaller company compared to industry giants like Samsung and Apple. Recent projections indicate that the iPhone 18 Pro could launch with a price between $1,299 and $1,399, reflecting an increase of $200 to $300 over the iPhone 17 Pro’s launch price.

      If memory prices remain high, the effects on your next phone purchase could be significant, particularly for entry-level smartphones.

      Manufacturers of budget smartphones might respond by shipping fewer RAM upgrades at existing prices, releasing more devices with 6GB of RAM rather than 8GB, maintaining storage options at 128 GB for extended periods, or simply passing on the increased costs to consumers through higher prices.

      Though Nothing may be the first major brand to openly discuss this issue, it is unlikely to be the last. Honestly, being candid with consumers about the reasons for a product's absence is more than many companies are willing to do.

      For more than five years, Shikhar has consistently simplified developments in the consumer tech sector and presented them…

      Your older iPhone may possess a security vulnerability that Apple cannot rectify.

      Security researchers have discovered a new BootROM exploit that affects iPhones with A12 and A13 chips.

      Though iPhones are generally considered some of the most secure smartphones for everyday use, they are not immune to severe security vulnerabilities, as recent threats like Coruna and DarkSword illustrate. Now, security researchers at Paradigm Shift have uncovered a different type of exploit, named usbliter8, which impacts some older iPhones and targets a critical part of Apple’s startup sequence known as the BootROM.

      The BootROM is the core startup code that operates before iOS loads, facilitating the iPhone's boot-up and validating what should run next. Because it is embedded in the chip, fixing it is far more challenging than resolving a typical iOS error. While Apple can often address software issues through updates, it cannot modify BootROM code on devices that have already been sold.

      Caviar has launched an iPhone case costing three times more than the device itself and embellished with a genuine T-Rex tooth fragment.

      Caviar has previously crafted many extraordinarily expensive custom phones, but its latest iPhone accessory might be a historic crossover. The new Magnetic Custom Relict is priced at $4,490 and serves as a magnetic case for the iPhone 17 Pro Max. While the price seems outrageous, it includes a piece of Tyrannosaurus fossil integrated into the design at the tip of its signature checkmark feature, making it pricier than the phone it protects.

      Samsung has officially announced the development of the Exynos 2700, likely for the Galaxy S27.

      Samsung has confirmed that the Exynos 2700 chipset is in progress, marking our first direct indication of the upcoming flagship processor from the company.

      Typically, Samsung releases its Galaxy S flagship smartphones with two different chipset options. Certain markets receive Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon processor, while others are equipped with Samsung's Exynos