The Worst Thing About the RAM Shortage That Nobody’s Talking About - Gizmodo

AI-fueled demand has created a deep RAM shortage that is lifting prices across the entire PC and device ecosystem—and the most painful part is likely to stick: a new, higher baseline for hardware costs long after the AI bubble cools.

Why RAM is scarce now

• AI data centers are paying massive premiums for memory, pulling supply toward high-margin AI parts.
• Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have shifted capacity accordingly, creating deficits in DRAM and NAND that spill over into SSDs and even HDDs.

How long could it last?

• Sapphire’s PR lead Edward Crisler told Hardware Unboxed the AI vacuum will squeeze gamers for roughly six months before the market stabilizes—but stabilization does not mean prices return to pre-crunch levels.
• A leaked outlook flagged by BullsLab via Wccftech suggests consumer DRAM could remain constrained through 2028.

What it means for consumers

• PC and laptop prices are rising: Framework says memory upgrade prices will increase in 2026, and Dell reportedly plans device price hikes.
• IDC and Counterpoint Research forecast smartphone prices will climb in 2026—roughly 10–25% depending on memory configuration. Counterpoint also expects memory prices to rise another 40% through Q2 2026.
• Tariffs and day-to-day pricing uncertainty keep list prices elevated even when inflation cools.

Real-world price creep

• Lenovo’s Legion Go S with SteamOS moved from a $550 announcement to $600 at launch and $650 a few months later.
• MSI’s Claw 8 AI+ costs more in 2025 than it did at its 2024 debut.

The big picture

• Even if prices dip, that’s disinflation—not deflation. Costs may rise more slowly, but the new normal remains higher.
• Unlike the pandemic-era GPU surge that eventually fell near MSRP, today’s AI-driven memory crunch and tariff environment mean that so-called normalized prices are often just pre-tariff equivalents.

Bottom line

• Expect to budget more for PCs, laptops, consoles, and phones through at least 2026. Watch for pre-tariff-equivalent sales, consider lower-memory configs you can upgrade later, and plan around elevated RAM and storage costs.

Source: https://gizmodo.com/the-worst-thing-about-the-ram-shortage-that-nobodys-talking-about-2000700185