Apple and its manufacturing partners are rushing to secure mobile DRAM ahead of the expected launch of the iPhone 18 lineup, as about US$1 billion worth of next-generation processors reportedly remain unable to move into packaging without sufficient memory supply.

Samsung Electronics will pay Netlist up to US$897 million in gross licensing fees over five years under a series of agreements that settle years of litigation and renew a commercial relationship covering server memory, high-bandwidth memory (HBM), product supply, and technology cooperation.

Elite Semiconductor Microelectronics Technology (ESMT) has benefited from a severe supply shortage in the niche memory market. July revenue jumped 40% from June to a monthly record, extending an explosive second-quarter 2026 performance. The company said higher product prices and tighter supply-demand conditions are driving the surge, and it expects the extreme capacity crunch to continue, with the second half of the year likely to outperform the first half.

Apple's attempt to use China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) as leverage against Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix has backfired. The two Korean chipmakers now hold stronger, not weaker, negotiating power over DRAM supply, according to South Korean and Chinese trade press.

China's CXMT is preparing limited production of LPDDR6 smartphone memory around the end of 2026, narrowing a technology gap with Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron that once spanned years.

Nanya Technology Corporation reported July 2026 revenue of NT$43.868 billion(US$1.353 billion), up 49.27% from June and marking a new monthly record, as stronger DDR4 contract prices lifted memory sales in the third quarter. The Taiwan memory chip maker also said revenue for the first seven months of 2026 reached NT$175.504 billion, up 660.87% from a year earlier.

Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (PSMC) will maintain its existing strategy following the sudden death of Chairman Frank Huang and expects business to improve quarter by quarter in the second half of 2026, Acting Chairman Brian Shieh said on August 4th.

HP, Asus and Acer have begun using limited quantities of DRAM from China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) in selected budget notebooks sold outside the US, Nikkei Asia reported, as a global memory shortage pushes PC makers to widen their supplier base.