Not all Galaxy S27 will have faster memory, RAMageddon strikes again?

The wait for the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy S27 series is growing day by day, but recent rumors reveal a potential cost-saving strategy for the standard models.

Due to rising component costs in the global market, it seems the South Korean company will reserve the ultra-fast LPDDR6 memory exclusively for the Ultra variant, leaving the base versions with less performant LPDDR5X modules.

This choice will create a clear division within the same smartphone family and push the flagship model’s price to numbers never seen before.

Samsung Galaxy S27, not all will have LPDDR6 RAM

Samsung Galaxy S27
Credits: OnLeaks, Android Headlines

According to information gathered by the Korean outlet The Bell, it has started quality tests on the LPDDR5X modules provided by Micron, based on the 1y manufacturing process. By the end of last year the American company had already provided samples for the previous series, but adoption had been postponed.

Today, the persistent global shortage of components is forcing Seoul’s company to seek external supplies, but costs are rising sharply. Sources indicate that Micron could demand a starting price more than 50% higher than the same products made in-house by Samsung’s memory division.

Negotiations are currently underway and are expected to be complex precisely because of this pricing gap.

The need to balance spending will most likely lead to a drastic division of the technical specifications. The fragmentation will affect not only memory but also processors.

Current information suggests that the Galaxy S27 Ultra will be the only smartphone in the lineup to boast the powerful chip Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Extreme, directly paired with the ultra-fast LPDDR6 memories capable of delivering higher bandwidth.

Conversely, the base models will rely on the proprietary Exynos 2700 processor and Micron’s LPDDR5X RAM modules currently under evaluation.

The hefty bill for Galaxy S27 Ultra

Choosing the flagship version will entail a decidedly hefty final cost for consumers. The data paints a picture of expensive components: the Snapdragon processor alone should have a unit cost of over $300, to which LPDDR6 memory chips will be added, estimated around $70 for the standard 12 GB modules.

Display and batteries will also push up the BOM (Bill of Materials). Samsung will deploy its new and premium OLED M16 panels, already seen on rivals’ foldables, and will integrate the silicon-carbon batteries introduced with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series.

This convergence of premium components will render the Galaxy S27 Ultra the most expensive non-foldable smartphone the brand has ever produced, pushing its price toward the figures normally asked for foldable smartphones.