AI Is Making Smartphones More Expensive — Samsung Just Said It Out Loud

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Samsung’s affordable phones just got a little less affordable.

Samsung Malaysia announced on 27 July that it is raising the recommended retail prices of its Galaxy A07 and Galaxy A17 — two of its most accessible smartphone models — effective immediately. The increases range from RM120 to RM200, depending on the variant.

The Galaxy A17 LTE, previously priced at RM949, now costs RM1,149.

That’s a jump of RM200, or roughly 21%.

Samsung’s explanation is straightforward, if a little unexpected for a budget phone announcement.

The company points to rising global costs for memory chips and RAM — components that are increasingly in demand not because everyone is buying new phones, but because data centres powering artificial intelligence systems need them in enormous quantities.

In other words, the infrastructure behind ChatGPT, cloud computing, and AI services worldwide is competing for the same memory chips inside your RM900 smartphone.

And right now, the data centres are winning.

Samsung says it has been absorbing these costs for some time, but the current market environment made a revision unavoidable.

The Galaxy A series has long been Samsung’s answer to consumers who want a reliable Android experience without flagship pricing.

The A07 and A17 sit at the entry and lower-mid tier — the phones bought by students, first-time smartphone owners, and anyone watching their ringgit carefully.

With the A17 LTE now crossing the RM1,100 mark, that positioning is under quiet pressure.

Samsung did not announce any changes to the devices themselves; the specs remain the same; only the price moved.

The revised prices are in effect now at all authorised Samsung retailers in Malaysia.

And Samsung is not alone.

Anything with a computational brain — laptops, smartphones, tablets, gaming PCs — is getting more expensive globally, and AI is a primary reason why.

Your blender and toaster are fine; your next phone, tablet, or laptop?

Less so.

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