Nothing has reportedly cancelled a planned budget CMF smartphone after the global RAM shortage made the project financially unworkable, marking one of the clearest signs yet that memory pricing is starting to reshape the smartphone market from the bottom up.
According to Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis, the device was pulled before launch due to rising DRAM costs that have steadily eroded the economics of ultra-low-cost hardware. The cancellation puts pressure on CMF by Nothing, the company’s budget-focused sub-brand introduced in 2024 with the CMF Phone 1 priced at $199 and built around the idea that capable smartphones could still be delivered at entry-level pricing.
That premise is now under strain. DRAM prices are up roughly 10 to 25 percent year over year, and the impact is most visible in the budget tier where even small cost increases can break product viability. Several Android manufacturers, including Honor and Oppo, are also reportedly facing rising component costs in the entry-level segment, with estimates pointing to increases of up to 20 to 30 percent since early 2025.
The issue is not limited to smartphones. The broader memory shortage is being driven by demand from AI infrastructure, where data center operators are absorbing large volumes of high-bandwidth memory. That shift has tightened supply for standard DRAM used in consumer devices, leaving manufacturers with fewer low-cost options and less pricing flexibility.
Industry forecasts suggest the impact could extend well beyond individual product cancellations. IDC has warned that global smartphone shipments could drop by around 13 percent in 2026 if memory constraints continue, as manufacturers reduce exposure to unprofitable low-end models. Even if supply conditions improve later, pricing is not expected to return to previous levels, pointing to a longer-term reset in device costs rather than a short-lived spike.
The pressure is already showing up in product roadmaps. Across the industry, manufacturers are adjusting configurations, reducing memory options, or quietly removing lower-cost variants that no longer meet margin requirements. In practice, this often means fewer entry-level devices and more aggressive pricing on mid-range models to compensate.
For companies like Nothing, the CMF line was designed specifically to operate in the space that is now shrinking. The cancellation signals how quickly that segment can disappear when component pricing shifts, especially for brands that rely on tight hardware margins to compete.
The effects are not isolated to smaller players either. Even major manufacturers are being forced to rethink pricing structures. Apple has acknowledged that rising memory costs are becoming difficult to absorb, with CEO Tim Cook recently describing the situation as one of the most extreme supply-side pressures the industry has seen in decades. While Apple has more flexibility due to higher margins, it is still adjusting configurations and preparing for broader pricing changes across its lineup.
As memory supply continues to tighten, the market is starting to split more clearly between premium devices that can absorb cost increases and budget hardware that cannot. The cancelled CMF phone sits directly in that gap, where pricing expectations and component realities no longer align.
