RAM crunch lifts laptop prices
PCMag reports that surging AI demand has driven up the cost of RAM this year, creating a shortage that will push laptop prices higher in 2026. The story points to memory supply pressure spilling from datacentre buying into everyday business hardware. (pcmag.com)
Laptop memory is getting more expensive fast, and that is set to push up business laptop prices through 2026. (pcmag.com) Random access memory, or RAM, is the short-term workspace that lets a laptop keep apps and files ready to use. TrendForce said conventional dynamic random-access memory contract prices jumped 90% to 95% quarter over quarter in the first quarter of 2026 after PC makers ran short on supply. (trendforce.com) TrendForce said those conventional dynamic random-access memory prices are expected to rise another 58% to 63% in the second quarter of 2026. The firm said suppliers are still shifting production toward server and high-bandwidth memory parts used in artificial intelligence systems. (trendforce.com) High-bandwidth memory is a premium kind of memory stacked close to an artificial intelligence chip so it can move data faster, like adding more lanes beside a processor. TrendForce said chipmakers are reallocating capacity toward high-bandwidth memory and server products, leaving less output for notebook and desktop memory. (trendforce.com) That squeeze starts in data centres, where cloud providers sign long-term deals to lock in supply before smaller buyers can. TrendForce said United States-based cloud service providers widened the supply gap in the first quarter, and PC original equipment manufacturers broadly faced dynamic random-access memory shortages. (trendforce.com) The memory market is also concentrated in three companies: Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron. CNBC reported in January that the three vendors make up nearly the entire RAM market and are benefiting from the surge in artificial intelligence demand. (cnbc.com) Micron’s executives said at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January that demand had risen faster than the industry could supply it. PCMag reported that laptop makers can respond by raising prices, cutting promotions, or shipping machines with less memory than buyers expected a year ago. (cnbc.com) (pcmag.com) TrendForce said even tier-one PC makers with supply allocations saw inventories fall quickly in early 2026. That leaves corporate information-technology buyers and everyday laptop shoppers competing in a market where the cheapest fix for manufacturers is often a higher sticker price. (trendforce.com)
