It's Not Just Phones — Even Routers Are Getting More Expensive Due to the Chip Shortage - Pandaily

The global chip shortage is no longer limited to smartphones but is now affecting a broad range of consumer electronics, including routers, smart home devices, and IoT products. The root cause lies in... Read original →

The AI-driven HBM frenzy is fracturing the memory supply chain. DRAM capacity reallocation to HBM isn’t just inflating consumer electronics costs—it’s creating a tech-stack rift: sub-3nm logic chips demand EUV, while HBM3e/4 require TSV and hybrid bonding, both competing for advanced packaging capacity. Foundries in Taiwan, China and mainland China already face scheduling conflicts. U.S. export controls exacerbate misallocation, exposing SMEs to supply rupture. Strategically, Apple’s M4 Max unified memory architecture insulates it, but Chinese OEMs like Xiaomi or Honor must raise prices or downgrade specs; IoT startups like Snowsky risk elimination. Over the next 12–24 months, DRAM volatility will become structural. Consumer devices will accelerate ‘memory-integrated’ designs (e.g., soldered LPDDR5X), yet HBM expansion won’t alleviate mainstream DRAM shortages—AI’s boom is being funded by mass-market electronics pain.