As the AI industry continues to directly cause a crisis in the availability of RAM, new rumors suggest that the Galaxy S27 could downgrade to 8GB of RAM, while other Android brands could go back to 4GB for some models.
RAM allotments in modern smartphones are fairly predictable. 12GB or 16GB in a high-end flagship, at least 8GB in most mid-range devices, and around 6GB in most entry-level devices. 4GB isn’t uncommon in entry-level devices, but even the most affordable models have pushed to 6GB in recent years because, frankly, Android just doesn’t run all that well on 4GB anymore.
But everyone is feeling the strain of the rapidly rising cost of memory. A recent report even claims that Samsung doesn’t make a profit when it sells a Galaxy device.
With that in mind, it’s not entirely surprising to hear that Samsung is considering a downgrade for its upcoming Galaxy S27 series. Leaker and analyst @kro_roe on Twitter/X says that the Galaxy S27 series will see its base models start with 8GB of RAM rather than the 12GB that’s been standard for the past two generations. Specifically, Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S26 both start with 12GB of RAM, with a 16GB option for select trims of the Ultra model.
This latest leak shows configurations with 8GB of RAM as the starting amount, and 12GB across the Pro and Ultra tiers.
- Galaxy S27: 8GB/256GB, 12GB/512GB
- Galaxy S27+: 8GB/256GB, 12GB/512GB
- Galaxy S27 Pro: 12GB/256GB, 12GB/512GB, 16GB “under consideration”
- Galaxy S27 Ultra: 12GB/256GB, 12GB/512GB, 16GB/1TB
The same leaker says the price increases “may be unavoidable” and that promos like doubled storage may not show up during the pre-order period. Meanwhile, the actual storage type could also differ, with some models “differentiating UFS storage versions” to balance costs. Galaxy S26 used UFS 4.0 across the board.
Samsung might not be alone in these downgrades. Another leaker on Weibo claims that “several” other Android brands are dropping their “top-of-the-line” devices to 12GB, their “main” mid-range models to 8GB, and entry-level devices to 6GB as the “top-of-the-line” offering, with most of those lower-cost Android phones going back to just 4GB of RAM.
It’s hard to know for certain what the future holds at this point, as “RAMageddon” rages on. All we know is that everything is getting more expensive. Thanks AI.
More on Samsung:
- I’ve struggled to use Samsung displays for years, but the Galaxy S27 may finally fix that; here’s why
- Samsung’s Android 18-based One UI 10 update sounds like it might be a big deal
- Dizzying lineup of Galaxy Z Fold 9 devices leaks, including the Galaxy Z ‘Slide’
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