Phone manufacturers reportedly considering pausing high-end Ultra models

Memory shortages and price hikes are continuing to wreak havoc across entire industries as tech giants buy up all of the supply at mouthwatering prices and AI data centers fight over scraps.

In this chaos, a new report alleges that some phone manufacturers might have to deal with this by pausing their high-end Ultra flagship smartphones until things can sort themselves out.

A pause for high-end phones

According to a new report — likely translated here from Chinese using AI — more than one smartphone manufacturer is considering the idea of pausing their high-end phone lineups. Low-end, mid-range, and “Pro” models will still be made, but “Ultra” models will disappear from shelves until memory is more affordable again.

Only Chinese companies mulling this over

The report is, for now, only about a few Chinese smartphone manufacturers that are considering taking this route for their products. Companies more widely known in Western markets — Samsung, Apple, and Google — are unlikely to do something similar.

In fact, Apple is launching its very expensive iPhone Ultra later this year. However, Chinese brands often push the boundaries with their top-of-the-line models when it comes to photography or raw performance, so that will be sorely missed across the industry.

Why is this happening?

According to the report, budget, mid-range, and Pro models sell in large enough quantities that they will still remain profitable. Ultra models from these brands feature ludicrously powerful hardware but also don’t sell too well due to the high price tags.

Like the Galaxy Z TriFold for Samsung, these phones are mostly there for the companies to flex their technological prowess. In today’s climate of ridiculously expensive memory components, continuing to manufacture such Ultra phones runs the risk of financial loss instead of profit.

That’s a real shame

The current memory crisis is troubling, some smaller companies are even projected to go bankrupt because of this. Meanwhile, companies like Apple are buying up all of the memory at insane costs and pricing out the competition.

Even mid-range smartphones are going back to teardrop notches and 90 Hz displays to cut costs. It’s all a mess and I cannot wait for memory prices to recover so things can go back to normal.