Why everything from your phone to your PC may get pricier in 2026
BBC••general
Key Points:
- The price of RAM, a critical component in devices from smartphones to medical equipment, has more than doubled since October 2025 due to increased demand from AI-powered data centers, causing supply-demand imbalances.
- Manufacturers face significantly higher RAM costs—some quoting increases as high as 500%—which are likely to be passed on to consumers, potentially driving up device prices in 2026.
- Industry experts predict that RAM price hikes will continue well into 2026, with some suppliers increasing prices by up to five times due to limited inventory and strong demand from cloud service providers like Amazon and Google.
- The surge in AI-related demand for high-bandwidth memory is the main driver behind these price increases, leading to higher production
