Daishin Securities Warns: Apple Hoarding Memory Chips to Undermine Competition, Triggering Panic in Chinese OEMs

According to a recent analysis by Daishin Securities, Apple is leveraging the current memory shortage in the market as a strategic advantage against its competitors. This approach not only enhances Apple’s supply chain position but also serves as a competitive barrier against emerging rivals.

Apple Utilizing Memory Shortage to Stabilize Market Position

In early April, reports indicated that Apple was aggressively acquiring “all available mobile DRAM on the market, ”effectively sidelining its competitors by limiting their access to essential memory chips. The strategy aims to ensure that Apple can fulfill its shipment goals while constraining rival capabilities.

Daishin Securities analyst Hyung-Geun Ryu published a memory report today, packed with significant alpha. Key takeaways: 1. Apple is exploiting the memory shortage amid growth stagnation in the North American market. As I’ve noted previously, Daishin Securities estimates that…

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The findings from Daishin Securities validate earlier speculations about Apple’s strategic hoarding of memory resources. This tactic is not only designed to maintain competitive pricing but is also aligned with Apple’s goal to increase its iPhone shipment forecasts to a prudent 240 million units.

Moreover, this accumulation of mobile DRAM has incited a sense of urgency among Chinese Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), leading them to initiate their own stockpiling efforts, thus exacerbating the existing memory shortage in the market.

Ming-Chi Kuo, a prominent analyst at TF Securities, has been instrumental in shaping this strategy. Kuo encouraged Apple, back in January 2026, to capitalize on the chaotic memory market by absorbing high memory chip costs. His recommendation was to forgo some profit margins to stabilize prices across Apple’s extensive product lineup.

Apple’s strategy of hoarding memory while keeping product prices intact recently paid off when Microsoft announced considerable price increases on its Surface laptops. As a result, Apple’s MacBooks find themselves in a more competitive position.

For instance, the base price of the 12-inch Surface Pro is now $1, 049, juxtaposed against Apple’s 13-inch M4 MacBook Air, which is priced at $999. For perspective, the Surface variant previously started at only $799.

In a more significant price difference, the 15-inch Surface laptop with 64GB of RAM, Snapdragon X Elite SoC, and 1TB SSD is now priced at $3, 649. In contrast, Apple’s 16-inch M5 Pro MacBook Pro with similar specifications starts at a lower $3, 299.

This strategic maneuvering in the face of memory shortages not only solidifies Apple’s market share but also furthers its competitive edge amidst rising costs and evolving consumer demands.

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