According to experts, price pressure will continue throughout 2026. Consumers will either buy more expensive products or turn to lower-performance devices.
The price of RAM memory, which is used in many products ranging from smartphones and televisions to medical devices and computers, has more than doubled since October 2025. This increase could lead to higher prices for many electronic products in 2026.
Experts say the main reason for the price surge is the explosion in demand from data centers powering artificial intelligence. This has disrupted the supply-demand balance and pushed memory prices upward.
Manufacturers usually absorb small cost increases themselves, but it is stated that the current increases go far beyond that limit.
Speaking to BBC’s Tom Gerken, Steve Mason, managing director of computer manufacturer CyberPowerPC, said:
“The prices being offered to us are roughly 500% higher than just a few months ago.”
Mason noted that at some point these costs would force manufacturers to raise prices.
“If a product uses memory or storage, there is a possibility of a price increase,” Mason said, adding that both manufacturers and consumers will have to make difficult decisions.
RAM (random access memory) is a vital component for devices to function. For a computer or phone to work, code needs to be temporarily stored there.
Danny Williams from PCSpecialist said that price increases could continue throughout 2026.
“Throughout 2025, the market was very volatile. If memory prices do not fall, we may see a decline in consumer demand in 2026,” he said.
Williams noted that while some manufacturers have limited price increases thanks to high stock levels, others have raised prices by as much as five times.
According to Chris Miller, author of the book Chip War, the main driver behind the price increases is artificial intelligence.
“There is a surge in demand, especially for the high-bandwidth memory required by AI,” Miller said.
He emphasized that prices are determined by supply and demand, and that demand is currently far ahead.
Mike Howard from Tech Insights said that cloud service providers have clarified their memory needs for the 2026–2027 period. He stated that demand from giants like Amazon and Google has exceeded current production capacity.
“When supply is limited and demand becomes clear, suppliers raise prices aggressively. Some have even stopped quoting prices altogether,” he said.
Howard added that while some manufacturers are trying to balance the situation by stockpiling in advance, this is the exception:
“Normally, memory accounts for about 15–20% of a computer’s cost. Right now, that figure has risen to 30–40%.”
According to experts, price pressure will continue throughout 2026. Consumers will either buy more expensive products or opt for lower-performance devices.
Steve Mason said, “It is likely that there will be global supply and pricing issues throughout 2026 and even 2027.”
Some large companies have already begun withdrawing from the consumer market. Memory manufacturer Micron announced in December that it had dropped the Crucial brand and shifted its focus to the AI market.
Mason noted that this could reduce options for consumers, but also said that the shift of production toward AI could create opportunities for other manufacturers.
According to Mike Howard, the production cost of a laptop with 16 GB of RAM could increase by $40–50 in 2026. This increase is expected to be passed directly on to consumers.
A similar increase is expected in smartphones, with production costs potentially rising by around $30.
Danny Williams summarized the situation as follows:
“Computers are now a basic necessity. But if memory prices continue to rise like this, consumers will either accept higher prices or settle for a lower-performance device. Another option is to keep using their existing device for longer.”