PCs and smartphones face steep price hikes in the coming months as memory component costs climb by the day. A severe shortage of consumer DRAM, fueled by artificial intelligence (AI) data centers' soaring appetite for high-bandwidth memory, is creating a major market imbalance. A recent report warned that if these supply constraints persist, prices could jump by as much as 8%, marking an end to the era of cheap components.
PC Market Faces Falling Sales and Surging Prices
According to analysis from market research firm IDC, the outlook for the PC industry over the coming year appears bleak. IDC warns that PC shipments could drop by as much as 8.9% in the coming year if the DRAM shortage worsens. Even under current conditions, the market is projected to contract by 4.9%, a far more pessimistic forecast than the previously expected 2.4% decline for 2026. This suggests consumer purchasing power is under serious threat from component inflation.
With input costs climbing due to memory shortages, PC makers are preparing price adjustments, with hikes expected to reach up to 8% to offset expenses. A slate of major brands, including Dell, Lenovo, HP, Asus, and Acer, have all confirmed upcoming price increases. Analysts also expect other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to follow suit. As a result, consumers will soon see noticeably higher PC prices on store shelves over the coming months.
IDC analysts believe the NAND and DRAM shortages will persist through 2027, signaling the end of an era defined by cheap, abundant memory and storage. Notably, these price hikes arrive at a particularly difficult time for the PC industry. Microsoft is currently pushing users to upgrade to memory-hungry AI-capable PCs, especially with Windows 10 officially reaching end-of-support in October 2025. The combination of mandatory upgrade pressure and rising hardware costs leaves consumers in a difficult dilemma.
Diverging Impacts Across the Smartphone Market
The surge in memory component prices is not limited to PCs; it is spilling over into the mobile sector, driving up the cost of smartphones and tablets over the coming year. To adapt, manufacturers are caught between raising retail prices or scaling back hardware specs. Average selling prices for smartphones could climb by 3% to 5% under a moderate scenario, and by as much as 6% to 8% in a more pessimistic forecast.
The fallout from these rising costs will not be felt equally across brands. Budget and midrange smartphone makers such as TCL, Transsion, Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo, Vivo, Honor, and Huawei are expected to take the hardest hit. Operating on razor-thin profit margins, these companies have little choice but to pass the added costs directly on to consumers.
By contrast, industry leaders Samsung and Apple are likely adopting a wait-and-see approach. Backed by substantial financial resources, both companies have locked down memory supply contracts covering the next 18 to 24 months, giving them a protective buffer against sharp price volatility. Even so, the tightening market could still bring technical compromises. Specifically, it could prevent both giants from bumping RAM from 12GB to 16GB on their next-generation flagships, stalling hardware spec progression.
If memory shortages persist through 2027 as projected, consumers could face substantially higher prices when upgrading RAM or purchasing new SSDs. With no relief in sight in the short term, the PC and smartphone markets are poised to see costs climb further before supply and demand finally stabilize.
