The RAM pricing situation: Why it’s happening, what’s affected, and how long will it last

Many technologically-minded readers will likely have noticed the spiking of prices of various gadgets in recent months.

It’s a phenomenon that’s occurring worldwide, with no consumer wallet left unscathed by exorbitant price increases for things like phones, computers, and even gaming consoles or smart technologies.

One of the main price increase drivers for gadgets is a spike in the price of RAM or random access memory, a type of computer electronic memory that’s used in most technologies.

Let’s unpack why this RAM price spike is happening, the extent of the effect of this pricing spike, and what you should expect in terms of how long it’ll last.

AI hits RAM supply and demand

As you can imagine, RAM has a finite supply. Of the different RAM types, DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) is the one most associated with computers, and is commonly associated with three main companies: Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology. These three companies together control about 95% of DRAM production.

Tech companies developing artificial intelligence have been gobbling up the supply or paying a premium for RAM of all types.

As a result, RAM manufacturers have considered switching up their production to make more lucrative RAM that isn’t consumer-facing or priced affordably for most consumers. In the case of Micron, for example, it opted to exit its Crucial-brand consumer business to “support the sale of Micron-branded enterprise products to commercial channel customers globally.”

As a December 2025 IDC forecast said, “AI servers and enterprise environments require far more memory per system than consumer devices, so the AI build-out is pulling a disproportionate share of global capacity and creating shortages, as suppliers prioritize orders from hyperscalers and OEMs building AI servers.”

Simply put, the race to improve on AI is causing components makers to serve AI tech companies’ interests to the detriment of the average consumer.

What is affected by a RAM pricing spike?

With a lot of demand for RAM, but not enough supply to go around, you can expect increases in the price of RAM to affect a lot of tech-related goods, but also services that rely on computers to run smoothly.

You can expect the prices of phones, laptops, personal computers (and most PC and laptop components) to rise, or will be sold with less advanced specifications to offset the costs. Game consoles such as the Nintendo Switch 2 or the Steam Deck are also expected to increase in price, while a Bloomberg report said the next iteration of the PlayStation game console may come at a later date, such as 2028 or 2029.

Meanwhile, you might expect companies to offset the price of buying or upgrading its computer systems on consumers asking for its services.

Of course, there will be other factors in play when it comes to the pricing of various services, from point-of-sale machines of stores and shops, to the prices of cars and smart home tech, but the problem of increasing RAM prices will affect everything in the short-to-medium term.

Years before some relief

The IDC report linked above said that, “The severity and duration of the shortage will be determined by how quickly production capacity can expand and how effectively demand rebalances across segments.”

In other words, it’ll depend on two things: whether supply of RAM will increase, or whether demand will adjust depending on the rollout — and subsequent failure or success of AI — and expectations of consumers and companies.

There will be no immediate relief, however, as Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said in early February that there would be “no relief until 2028.”

Micron’s vice president of marketing, mobile and client business unit, Christopher Moore, told WCCFTech that memory shortages won’t improve before 2028 as building out RAM fabrication centers and certifying them, then building RAM supply will take a matter of years to do.

“In order to dramatically increase the number of bits we need more clean room space. And that takes a lot of time,” he said.

Ultimately, Moore explained, “Memory manufacturers are scrambling in to build newer production lines, yet constraints of the process eventually forces them to push the timelines ahead by several quarters.”

For the average consumer, Moore said that “DRAM shortages could persist for quite some time now, or at least until the AI demand starts to fade away.” – Rappler.com