PC buyers and tech companies are still feeling the squeeze on component costs, and it looks like things might get tougher. Major memory suppliers are signaling another round of price increases, driven by massive AI demand and tight supply. Samsung appears to be leading the charge with some pretty significant DRAM hikes on the way.
According to supply chain reports, Samsung is currently negotiating with customers for an average DRAM price increase of up to 20% in Q3 2026. That’s on top of some huge jumps earlier this year: over 90% in Q1 and another 50% in Q2. SK Hynix is also joining the broader industry move to push prices higher on standard DRAM.
The main culprit is ongoing supply shortages. Suppliers are pouring resources into high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI data centers, leaving less capacity for the memory used in everyday consumer gadgets. Lenovo has even called this a “new normal,” warning that prices probably won’t drop back to pre-2025 levels anytime soon, possibly not until 2030. Apple has already started passing some of these higher chip costs on to customers through price adjustments on MacBooks and iPhones. Some manufacturers are going back to older platforms, like ramping up DDR4 production, just to keep costs under control.
At the same time, Samsung’s focus on high-margin AI memory is only getting stronger. The company is reportedly in discussions with Anthropic for a custom AI chip collaboration. These collaborations suggest the current pressure on consumer memory supply isn’t going away anytime soon. That only reinforces what TrendForce and Lenovo recently predicted, that we could be living with these elevated prices for years to come.
If you’re shopping for a new gaming laptop or flagship smartphone in the second half of 2026, expect to pay more. Higher RAM costs could also lead to weaker smartphone sales, possibly dropping by double digits as devices get less affordable. While AI server demand keeps booming, everyday users are the ones likely to feel the pinch at retail.
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(Sources: ZDNet Korea | IPC2U)
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