Surging RAM Prices Linked to AI Demand Could Push Device Costs Higher in 2026

The price of random access memory (RAM) has risen sharply since October 2025, and the shift is forcing manufacturers and consumers to reassess the cost of everyday devices. Industry figures say the spike, driven largely by demand from AI-focused data centres, is creating a supply–demand imbalance that could translate into higher prices for phones, laptops and other electronics in 2026.

RAM is used to store code while a device is in use and is a critical component across smartphones, personal computers, smart TVs and medical devices. What was once one of the cheapest parts in a device is now becoming a significant portion of manufacturing cost, industry analysts say.

Chris Miller, author of Chip War, described AI as "the main factor" behind the surge. "There's been a surge of demand for memory chips, driven above all by the high-end High Bandwidth Memory that AI requires," he said. "This has led to higher prices across different types of memory chips."

Market observers point to rapid growth in data centres that support AI workloads as the immediate cause. Mike Howard of Tech Insights said cloud service providers finalising their memory requirements for 2026 and 2027 has given memory manufacturers clear visibility of demand. That clarity, combined with limited supply, has prompted suppliers to raise prices.

Howard said the commercial picture was stark: "With both demand clarity and supply constraints converging, suppliers have steadily pushed prices upward, in some cases aggressively. Some suppliers have even paused issuing price quotes, a rare move that signals confidence that future prices will rise further."

The scale of recent price moves varies by vendor. Danny Williams from PCSpecialist said some producers with larger inventories have only raised prices by "perhaps 1.5x to 2x," while others with smaller stocks have increased prices "up to 5x". Steve Mason, general manager of CyberPowerPC, described even larger recent changes: "We are being quoted costs around 500% higher than they were only a couple of months ago."

Manufacturers often absorb modest cost rises, but several industry voices warned that larger increases will be passed on to consumers. Howard noted that memory typically accounts for 15% to 20% of a PC's total cost but that "current pricing has pushed that toward 30 to 40 percent". He added that margins in most consumer categories are not deep enough to absorb such sharp increases.

Concrete examples of manufacturing cost rises were supplied by Howard. He said a typical laptop with 16GB of RAM could see its manufacturing cost rise by $40 to $50, and that "this will likely be passed on to consumers." He also said smartphones could face upwards pressure, with a typical handset's build cost increasing by about $30, which again "will likely get passed on directly to consumer."

Suppliers' strategic choices are shaping the market as well. Some manufacturers anticipated stronger AI demand and built inventory to soften the blow for consumer channels, but these firms were described as "outliers" by Howard. At the same time, a major industry move in December removed a significant consumer supplier: Micron announced it would stop selling its Crucial brand to focus on AI demand. Mason said this decision "removes one of the biggest players from the market," while adding that a shift of production toward AI could also "free up capacity for the others to make more for consumers, so it may balance out."

The combined effect of sustained demand and constrained supply led Mason to warn that consumers should prepare for continued pressure. "Most of the market intelligence we have received would suggest pricing and supply will be a challenge worldwide throughout 2026 into 2027," he said.

Industry participants said the implications for buyers are straightforward: either accept higher prices, opt for lower-spec devices, or continue using existing hardware for longer. As Williams put it, consumers may have to "pay a higher price for the performance they need, or accept a compromise in a lower performing device." He added there is another possibility: consumers might have to "make do with old tech for a little longer."

For manufacturers, the choices are similarly stark. Mason noted that at some point the scale of component cost rises will "force" decisions about pricing. "If it uses memory, or storage, there is the potential for price increases," he said. "The manufacturers will have choices to make, as will consumers."

With memory costs elevated and demand from AI infrastructure set to remain strong, industry sources expect RAM pricing and availability to be a defining factor for consumer electronics throughout 2026.