When retail RAM prices rocket 300% in December alone, you know there is going to be a world of pain coming for every smart device that needs RAM and SSD storage.
To put that in perspective, a 16GB stick of RAM was about A$100 in early December, and it is approaching $300 with the high bandwidth type closer to $400. That’s an extra $200+ on a 16GB smartphone when the current Australian stocks are exhausted. It’s also going to mean an extra $50-100 on 4/8GGB entry-level phones. Pundits are suggesting the price will increase up to $500 in Q1, 2026.
A 1TB SSD was about $150 and is now over $300, and panic buying has seen retail component suppliers putting limits on sales per household. Again high performance PCIe 5 SSDs are hitting $400.
Hint: Buy NOW!
The reason for the RAM prices rocket
According to IDC, AI is forcing data centre expansion at a record rate, and these consume vast quantities of the premium high-bandwidth LPDDRX (Low-Power Double Data Rate X) RAM that is used in midrange and premium smartphones, Macs, PCs/laptops, TVs, and even routers. And frankly, data centres are prepared to pay more to get it.
It has been exacerbated by Microsoft and Google mandating that 16GB is the minimum and preferably 32GB for its 2026 for CoPilot and Gemini AI PCs and phones. It is likely that 64GB will be recommended for AI devices in the longer term.
Big brands won’t be as affected
Apple and Samsung face pressure but are structurally hedged. Their cash reserves, market share, far higher retail profit margins, and long-term supply agreements allow them to secure memory supply 12-24 months in advance. On the other hand, the new 2026 flagship models will likely have no RAM upgrades, sticking to 12GB for Pro models rather than increasing to 16GB as they should.
Challenger smartphone brands like OPPO, Motorola, Xiaomi, TCL and many more that buy RAM at the ‘spot’ price will be affected sooner.
IDC predicts a 5.2% decline in smartphone sales due to price hikes.
The big PC/Laptop makers like HP, ASUS, Lenovo, Dell and Acer will be affected sooner as the trend is to integrate RAM chips into the motherboard (soldered-in) means they will be affected by increased ‘spot’ prices. They are likely to raise prices post-Christmas to build a cash reserve hedge/buffer and have warned of 15-20% price increases by H2, 2026. That is $350-400 on a $2000 laptop.
IDC predicts an 8.9% sales decline in PCs due to price hikes.
Will RAM prices stay high?
Prior to AI data centre demand, there was a glut of RAM, and that meant manufacturers cut margins to clear stocks.
IDC says the severity and duration of the shortage will be determined by how quickly production capacity can expand and how effectively demand rebalances across segments.
Micron, one of the world’s largest RAM chip makers, says supply constraints would “persist beyond calendar 2026.”
CyberShack’s view: RAM prices rocket. The era of cheap, abundant memory and storage is over
First, an explanation. We have used retail and spot market pricing, which is more affected by shortages. It is easier to ship millions of pieces of RAM to data centres than to make retail boxed RAM sticks or SSDs.
IDC admits that the predicted demand drop for phones and computers will depend on spot pricing, and no one knows where this will end up. Smaller volume makers will be hesitant to buy too far ahead lest they get stuck with overpriced RAM.
It is also predicated on the massive expansion of data centres continuing. As these don’t appear out of thin air, there is a pretty good idea of that growth in 2026.
Even though it seems like the crisis won’t end, the day will come when RAM makers catch up with demand.
If you experience such increases, let us know at [email protected]
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2 comments
Vena
Will this also affect USB Flash Drives, External SSD and traditional Hard Drives?
Ray Shaw
Hard drives usually only have a small RAM cache so they wont skyrocket. But yes, anything using RAM will go up.