With memory-chip prices soaring, consumer electronics firms are left with three rotten options: charge more, swallow the hit or ship weaker specs.
The global dash into AI is driving the squeeze, with data centres demanding servers stuffed with huge amounts of memory.
That demand is drying up supply for smartphones, PCs, gaming consoles, and many other shiny distractions, pushing prices sharply higher since early 2025.
The Grey Box Shifter Dell has raised prices for some commercial laptops by as much as 30 per cent, while Acer budget PCs now ship with a few gigabytes less multitasking memory.
Xiaomi has discontinued the lower-memory version of a new mid-tier phone and raised prices, while LG has dimmed its TV sales outlook for 2026.
Lenovo warned that the “unprecedented” surge in memory prices will constrain demand for PCs and smartphones in 2026, even as it expects higher prices to offset weaker volume.
The biggest kit shifters, including the Fruity Cargo Cult Apple, Nintendo and Samsung, can bulk-buy ahead of price hikes, but stockpiles do not last forever.
The result is a rough year getting rougher, with projected shipment declines for smartphones, PCs and consoles sliding further in pessimistic forecasts.
TrendForce data shows roughly a sevenfold rise in contract prices for DRAM and NAND flash in the past 12 months.
Analysts do not expect quick relief, with tight supply forecast to persist through 2028 as AI infrastructure spending continues to strain capacity.
IDC vice-president, Bryan Ma, said, “To run an AI model effectively on a smartphone or PC, you generally need a richer memory configuration. Now with these pricing pressures, it’s pushing the industry backwards in having to downgrade.”
PCs look especially exposed because memory can account for as much as 30 per cent of total costs, and Dell has started hiking prices for commercial laptops since mid-December.
Dell, chief operating officer, Jeff Clarke said, “I don’t see how this will certainly not make its way into the customer base.”
Apple supreme dalek Tim Cook said, “We do continue to see market pricing for memory increasing significantly,” after warning that the impact would be bigger in the current quarter.
Samsung senior executive Seong Cho said, “We expect a challenging business environment in 2026,” after the company reported that mobile memory supply shortages began to materialise at the end of 2025.
Xiaomi, president, Lu Weibing said price increases were imminent and here for the long run, after the Xiaomi 17 Ultra dropped a 256GB option and pushed a roughly $70 premium for more storage.
Nintendo warned memory could squeeze margins on its Switch 2 and the shares fell 11 per cent the next day, while Microsoft projected Windows sales to PC makers would drop by roughly 10 per cent.
Qualcomm, chief executive, Cristiano Amon said, “We just wish there was more memory,”
