Samsung is reportedly cutting Galaxy A production by about 20%, and rising memory costs could mean fewer, pricier budget phones.
Samsung's affordable Galaxy A phones could get harder to find at a good price. A South Korean outlet, Electronic Times, reports that Samsung is cutting Galaxy A production by about 20% in the fourth quarter compared with its original plans. Digital Trends picked up the story.
Component orders have reportedly dropped by a similar amount. That could mean roughly 10 million fewer phones over the year. Samsung is also said to be considering another production cut of more than 10% next year. These figures come from a report, not from a Samsung announcement.
The main cause is the cost of memory, the chips that hold a phone's apps, photos and files. Prices have risen so sharply that memory can now make up more than half the total cost of some budget and midrange phones. Other parts are also getting tighter because manufacturers are favoring components for more profitable AI hardware.
Samsung is reportedly sending more parts to its Galaxy S and Galaxy Z phones, where it has more room to absorb higher costs.
Anyone shopping for a phone under flagship prices. Samsung is not alone. Nothing canceled its next CMF phone because it could not deliver a meaningful upgrade at the price buyers expected. It said its $279 CMF Phone 2 Pro would cost between $320 and $370 today with the same specifications.
Research firm Omdia earlier estimated that shipments of phones priced below $400 could fall by more than 22% this year. For Galaxy A buyers, the report points to three possible outcomes:
One industry source cited by Electronic Times warned that future phones could even launch at higher prices with downgraded displays or cameras.
Relief looks distant. Statements from Samsung and Micron executives suggest no improvement until 2028. Makers of RAM (a phone's working memory) and NAND (its storage) are building new facilities to raise output, but that takes time. Prices for budget phones, midrangers and flagships will likely keep climbing in the meantime.
If a new phone is on your list, buying sooner may save you from another price hike, especially on budget models. Waiting for a better deal looks like a risky bet right now.
If you plan to buy a budget phone soon, do it sooner rather than later, because prices are expected to keep rising until at least 2028.
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