Qian Zhan Wang·2025-11-19 07:38Core Insights - The global storage chip market is expected to experience a price surge starting in the second half of 2025, driven by increased demand for AI computing power, creating a challenging situation for the smartphone industry [2] - Major smartphone manufacturers like Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo are facing supply chain pressures, with upstream suppliers (Micron, Samsung, SK Hynix) raising prices by nearly 50%, forcing manufacturers to make difficult choices between accepting price hikes or risking supply shortages [2][3] - The storage chip industry is characterized by high technical and financial barriers, with significant requirements for R&D capabilities and capital investment, leading to a market dominated by a few key players [3][6] Industry Dynamics - Xiaomi has already begun to feel the impact of rising costs, with the price of its Redmi K90 standard version increasing by 300 yuan to 2599 yuan compared to the previous generation K80 [3] - The storage chip market is highly concentrated, with Samsung holding a 43.03% share in the DRAM segment and 34% in the NAND segment, followed by SK Hynix and Micron [6] - Morgan Stanley has indicated that upstream manufacturers like SK Hynix and Samsung will benefit from increased profit margins due to their strong pricing power, while downstream sectors such as PCs and smartphones will face significant cost pressures [7]