If you have ever asked an AI chatbot for pricing advice on what to bill a client, you would know that they are notorious for suggesting very high figures. So if a random person was stopped on the street and asked to guess the connection between rising device prices and AI, you cannot blame them for assuming CEOs have been asking Claude and ChatGPT for pricing advice. Unfortunately the real reason for these increases is not as funny or easy to fix, but it is still AI’s fault. So how exactly is the rise of AI affecting the prices of new hardware and even some older ones? Let us talk about it.

The RAM Shortage Nobody Saw Coming

DRAM is a type of memory chip used in almost every device you own, from your phone to your laptop to your tablet and even your smartwatch. The problem is that these chips have become very expensive because they are in extraordinarily high demand right now, and the source of that demand is AI.

Data centres running large AI models need enormous amounts of memory, and the same factories that make chips for your everyday devices are being redirected to meet that demand. This surge was not well predicted, so supply has not caught up, and until it does, prices are going to keep rising for anything that relies on these chips. Some people in the industry are already calling it RAMageddon, which tells you everything you need to know about how serious it is.

It Affects Everyone

The memory shortage is hitting the entire consumer electronics industry. Smartphone manufacturers, PC makers, gaming hardware companies, all of them are dealing with the same rising component costs. There are now estimates that the smartphone market will see its biggest annual decline ever this year, with similar predictions for PCs too.

This means consumers even in high income markets are already feeling the squeeze, and manufacturers are going to keep passing those costs on. This is why you are hearing major companies like Apple, Samsung, and Sony announcing price increases. It is not just corporate greed this time, they actually have a real reason.

What This Means for Your Upgrade Plans

If you were planning to buy a new device this year, keep in mind that prices are likely to stay high for at least the rest of 2026, and possibly into 2027, depending on how long it takes for supply to catch up with demand. It is not looking great right now, but they will eventually figure something out. It will just take time, and waiting for prices to drop in the next few months is probably not a strategy that will pay off.

That said, not every purchase decision has to be a bad one right now. Here are some suggestions on how to think about it.

What You Can Actually Do

Extend what you have. This is the best time to love and take care of your devices. If your current phone, laptop, or tablet is working well and will still receive software support for a while, this is a genuinely good time to hold on to it. The longer you can wait, the better the chance that supply normalises and prices stabilise.

Consider refurbished. The fairly used and refurbished market is looking more attractive than ever right now. A well-checked refurbished flagship from previous years will almost always outperform a brand new mid-range device, and you are not paying the inflated 2026 price for it. Just make sure you are buying from a trustworthy source and running through the checklist we covered in this article.

Buy now if you genuinely need to. If your current device is failing and you cannot put off the purchase, buy sooner rather than later. Prices are more likely to go up than down in the short term, so waiting is unlikely to save you money.

Long Story Short

The rise of AI has had its fair share of positives and negatives, and now it is directly affecting what you pay for your phone, your laptop, your tablet, and your console. Prices are up, more increases are likely coming, and as they say, prices have a gravity problem because they go up a lot more easily than they come down. The smartest move most people can make right now is to take care of what they already have, think carefully before upgrading, and if they do need to buy, consider all their options seriously. In essence either you buy now because it is only going to get worse in the short term, or hold on for a long time till it gets better.