Samsung Faces Memory Rout as China CXMT Lists, Mulls Paid AI Tier

CXMT listing rattles Samsung shares and memory peers

Samsung Electronics shares closed down about 13% on July 28, 2026 in Seoul and SK hynix fell roughly 14%, after China's Changxin Memory Technologies (CXMT) listed the previous trading day on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market and saw its share price surge 466% on debut, Seoul Economic Daily reported. CXMT's market capitalization reached roughly 3.28 trillion yuan, making it the most valuable mainland-listed Chinese firm, while the listing raised around 57.92 billion yuan (about 12.56 trillion won) — the largest mainland China IPO since 2010.

The Asia Business Daily put the KOSPI's intraday drop at about 8%, with SK hynix off 10.46% and Samsung Electronics off 8.66% by mid-morning, and named SK Square (-10.68%) and Samsung Electro-Mechanics (-12.30%) among other decliners. The same outlet cited a Bloomberg report that a Shanghai state-owned firm had begun producing immersion DUV lithography machines, sending ASML's US-listed shares down 5.8%. Counterpoint data assembled by Seoul Economic Daily showed Samsung leading DRAM revenue in Q1 at 38%, with SK hynix at 29%, Micron at 22% and CXMT at 8%; CXMT aims to mass-produce HBM3 this year and HBM3E next year, and is targeting monthly DRAM output of 500,000 wafers by 2028 versus an estimated 300,000 today, with the technology gap to the "Big 3" estimated at roughly three years.

Galaxy AI subscription under consideration

Samsung is weighing a monthly subscription for heavy Galaxy AI users to absorb rising cloud computing and memory chip costs, Samsung Southwest Asia president and chief executive J B Park told LiveMint on July 28, 2026. Park framed the move as a test of consumer willingness to pay for AI on smartphones as margins come under pressure from inputs and service-delivery costs. He tied the pricing review directly to the memory squeeze now hitting flagship device economics, signalling that the rollout pace of AI features could hinge on whether a paid tier finds traction in heavy-use segments.

India-specific AI features from local R&D

Samsung will introduce AI capabilities tailored for Indian consumers in its next Galaxy smartphone, with research teams at its Noida and Bengaluru centres studying local consumer personas to shape the features, J B Park told The Economic Times at a London roundtable with Indian journalists. One example under development is an AI-powered bill payment reminder that scans emails for recurring bills and alerts users before due dates; Park said the feature was ideated at the Noida centre and engineered exclusively for Indian consumers. He added that Samsung intends to expand the Indian R&D centres' contributions to global technology and intellectual property, framing India as both a strategic market and a source of AI features for other regions.

Foldables surpass 20% of India flagship sales

Samsung's foldable smartphones now contribute more than 20% of its flagship sales in India, with the share rising year-on-year, Park told The Economic Times at the same London roundtable. About 65% of the company's premium smartphone sales — covering the Galaxy S26 Ultra, Galaxy S26+ and the Z series — now come from tier-2 and tier-3 cities and rural markets, where growth is running at double-digit rates. The Galaxy Z8 series, manufactured in India, is available for pre-booking and goes on sale in stores from August 7. Samsung introduced its first foldable in 2019.

EMI absorption cushions Indian buyers from price pressure

Samsung is bearing the interest component of EMI financing on its flagship smartphones in India — an unusual arrangement in an open market without operator subsidies — J B Park told The Indian Express on the sidelines of the Galaxy Unpacked event in London. Interest-free EMIs of up to 30 months are available, even as Park warned that higher device prices are "inevitable" industry-wide and acknowledged the company's 2026 margin absorption is "humongous." Despite the squeeze, Park said Samsung's price increases remain smaller than competitors' thanks to the absorption strategy, with the company continuing to soften the impact for Indian buyers through subsidy programmes tied to monthly instalments.