The RAM shortage is here to stay, raising prices on PCs and phones

Your next smartphone or PC might cost more amid a global memory shortage that the International Data Corporation expects to “persist well into 2027.” A new report from the research firm lays out the potential impact of the RAM crunch, saying it “signals the end of an era of cheap, abundant memory and storage” — for now, at least. The price of RAM has skyrocketed over the past few months as the world’s biggest memory makers — Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix — allocate more resources for AI companies, which are buying up tons of memory for their massive data centers. Though PC gamers looking to upgrade their build’s RAM may have been the first to feel the impact of this crunch, it’s coming for other devices, too. As noted by the IDC, the cost of a smartphone “is heavily dependent” on the type of memory it uses, with soaring RAM costs leading phonemakers to “raise prices significantly, cut specifications or both.” Budget-friendly smartphones from brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Honor, and Huawei will “have no other option” but to pass along these higher costs to consumers, according to the IDC. These manufacturers have already optimized the parts they use to keep prices low and have little room to swap out existing parts for cheaper ones. Xiaomi and Honor have already started raising prices on their tablets, while Xiaomi has warned about price increases coming for its smartphones, too. Samsung and Apple, on the other hand, might have a bit more leeway, as they’re able to “secure memory supply 12-24 months in advance,” the IDC says. They may not add more than 12GB of RAM in their flagship smartphones, an upgrade both the iPhone 17 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra came with this year. Altogether, the IDC expects the average selling price of phones to rise by 3 to 5 percent if the “moderate” scenario plays out, or by 6 to 8 percent with a “pessimistic” outlook. Moving to PCs, the IDC says the memory shortage creates a “perfect storm” for the PC industry, coming at the same time Microsoft ends support for Windows 10 and pushes memory-hungry AI PCs. Several PC and laptop makers have already confirmed incoming price hikes, including Dell, HP, Acer, and Asus. Meanwhile, the makers of AI-heavy devices like Microsoft’s Copilot Plus PCs may have to raise prices or reduce the amount of RAM they put in their PCs. That may prove difficult as Copilot Plus PCs come with a minimum of 16GB of RAM. Though the IDC isn’t changing its official PC market forecast for 2026, it says the average selling price of PCs could rise by 4 to 6 percent in a moderate scenario, or 6 to 8 percent in a “pessimistic” one.