We can't build a phone that feels like progress at a price that makes sense
In the shadow of artificial intelligence's insatiable appetite for memory chips, the devices most people carry in their pockets are becoming harder to build and harder to afford. Nothing's budget brand CMF has chosen to wait rather than compromise, confirming its next phone will not arrive until 2027 — a quiet but telling signal that the AI boom is reshaping not just data centers, but the everyday economics of consumer technology. Apple, too, has acknowledged the pressure, with Tim Cook warning that price increases are no longer avoidable. What unfolds here is an old story in new form: when a powerful industry commands resources, smaller needs must wait their turn.
- AI companies are outbidding smartphone makers for RAM at a scale that has effectively frozen parts of the consumer device market.
- Nothing's CMF brand — built on the promise of thoughtful phones at honest prices — will go dark for all of 2026 rather than break that promise.
- Apple, with far deeper pockets, is absorbing what it can but has signaled that iPhone buyers will soon feel the cost of the chip shortage directly.
- Every phone maker is now choosing between delay, price hikes, or quiet compromises on performance — and none of the options are good.
- The industry is betting on relief that depends entirely on AI demand softening or chip supply expanding, neither of which is guaranteed.
Nothing's budget phone brand CMF will sit out 2026 entirely. The company confirmed this week that rising RAM costs have made it impossible to launch a new device at the prices its customers expect — a standard the brand has built its identity around. A successor to the CMF Phone 2 Pro is in development, but it won't arrive before 2027.
The cause is not internal. The broader smartphone industry is being squeezed by AI companies that are stockpiling chips at a scale that leaves consumer device makers competing for scraps. When supply tightens and demand holds, prices climb. Nothing chose delay over compromise.
Nothing's parent company still has something planned for 2026, but CMF's absence will be felt by the community that has come to rely on it for phones that feel considered without being expensive. That value proposition depends on affordable components — and right now, those components are not affordable.
Apple is navigating the same pressure with a different calculus. Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal this week that price increases are unavoidable, acknowledging that the company can no longer absorb rising memory costs on its own. With the iPhone 18 approaching, customers are likely to notice.
The RAM crisis is neither isolated nor temporary. Until AI demand eases or supply expands, smartphone makers will keep choosing between raising prices and delaying launches. Nothing's decision to wait is a wager on better conditions ahead — one whose outcome rests on forces well beyond its control.
Nothing's budget phone brand CMF will not release a new device in 2026. The company confirmed the delay this week, citing a shortage of memory chips that has made it impossible to build an affordable phone without compromising on performance or raising prices beyond what the brand's customers expect to pay.
Akis Evangelidis, speaking for Nothing, was direct about the constraint: the cost of RAM has climbed so high that launching a new CMF phone at a price that feels like genuine progress has become untenable. The company is working on a successor to the CMF Phone 2 Pro, but that device will not arrive until 2027 at the earliest.
This marks the end of a streak. For years, Nothing released new phones regularly, each one feeling like a meaningful step forward rather than a minor refresh. But the company is not alone in hitting a wall. The broader smartphone industry is caught in a squeeze created by artificial intelligence. Data centers and AI companies are hoarding chips at a scale that has starved consumer device makers of the components they need. When supply shrinks and demand stays high, prices rise. Nothing chose to delay rather than pass those costs to customers.
Nothing's parent company still has something planned for 2026—Evangelidis hinted that the smartphone launch season is not finished—but CMF's absence will be felt. The brand has built a following by offering phones that feel thoughtful and well-made at prices that don't require compromise. That formula depends on access to affordable components. Right now, that access does not exist.
Apple is facing the same pressure and has chosen a different path. Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal this week that price increases are now unavoidable. The company has tried to absorb the rising costs of memory and other chips, but the situation has become unsustainable. Cook did not specify how much prices will rise or when, but the iPhone 18 series is coming soon, and the math suggests customers will notice.
The RAM crisis is real and it is broad. Every phone maker is either delaying products, raising prices, or both. Some brands are shielding their customers from the worst of it, but that shield is weakening. The culprit is clear: AI companies need chips more than phone makers do, and they have the money to outbid everyone else. Until that demand softens or supply catches up, the smartphone market will remain constrained. Nothing's decision to wait until 2027 is a bet that conditions will improve. Whether that bet pays off depends on forces largely outside the company's control.
Citas Notables
With memory prices where they are right now, we can't build a phone that feels like a genuine step forward at a price that makes sense for CMF.— Akis Evangelidis, Nothing
Price increases are unavoidable... the situation has become unsustainable.— Tim Cook, Apple
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why would Nothing choose to delay rather than just raise prices like Apple is doing?
Because CMF's entire identity is built on being affordable. If you raise prices on a budget brand, you're not just charging more—you're breaking the promise that made people buy it in the first place. Nothing decided the delay was less damaging to the brand than betraying that promise.
But doesn't delaying also hurt them? People might buy from competitors instead.
It does hurt. But a year of lost sales might be less painful than permanently damaging the brand's reputation. If CMF becomes expensive, it loses its reason to exist. There are plenty of other phones at higher price points.
Is this really about AI, or is that just an excuse companies use?
The chip shortage is real—data centers are genuinely buying chips at unprecedented scale. But you're right to be skeptical. Some companies probably use AI as cover for price increases they would have made anyway. The hard part is knowing which is which.
What happens if the RAM crisis doesn't ease by 2027?
Then Nothing launches a phone that's either more expensive than planned or less capable. Either way, the delay just postpones the problem. The company is betting the crisis resolves itself, but that's not guaranteed.
Does this mean the smartphone market is slowing down?
It's being forced to slow down. The pace of releases we saw for years—new phone every few months—was only possible because components were cheap and plentiful. That era is ending, at least temporarily. The industry is adjusting to a new reality where chips are scarce and expensive.