- Rising RAM costs are forcing phone makers to make difficult tradeoffs to avoid raising prices.
- Xiaomi’s 17T appears to have cut costs on its speakers, with testing showing weaker audio than its predecessor.
- As manufacturers look for savings, buyers may need to dig deeper than the spec sheet to spot hidden compromises.
The rising RAM cost crisis isn’t letting up anytime soon, and manufacturers are increasingly being forced to make tradeoffs just to keep phone prices from climbing even higher. Motorola, for example, took the stagnation route by using the same chipset in the Razr Ultra 2026 as in its predecessor. Stagnation is still somewhat understandable, especially when the chip in question is the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Xiaomi, on the other hand, could potentially be taking a completely different approach.
The company released the Xiaomi 17T late in May. The device is positioned as a mid-range alternative to flagships, and hence, Xiaomi presumably wanted to maintain its modest price tag. But the manufacturer reportedly did so by making a compromise that isn’t immediately evident when looking at spec sheets.
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