The cost of lots of the devices we all use could be forced up in 2026 because the price of Ram - once one of the cheapest computer components - has more than doubled since October 2025.🤔
The tech powers everything from smartphones to smart TVs, as well as things like medical devices.
Its price has shot up because of the explosive growth in the data centres which power AI, which need Ram too.
That's caused an imbalance between supply and demand which means everyone has to pay more.
Manufacturers often choose to swallow small cost increases, but big ones tend to get passed on to consumers.
And these increases are anything but small.
AI making prices rise
Chris Miller, author of Chip War, called AI "the main factor" driving demand for computer memory.
"There's been a surge of demand for memory chips, driven above all by the high-end High Bandwidth Memory that AI requires," he said.
"This has led to higher prices across different types of memory chips."
He said prices "often fluctuate dramatically" based on "demand and supply" - and demand is significantly up right now.
And Mike Howard from Tech Insights said it came down to cloud service providers finalising their memory requirements for 2026 and 2027.
The bottom line for 2026
With prices trending upwards, customers will likely be left deciding whether to pay more or accept a less powerful device.
"Most of the market intelligence we have received would suggest pricing and supply will be a challenge worldwide throughout 2026 into 2027," Mr Mason said.
And some big firms have turned their nose up at the consumer market altogether.
Micron, previously one of the biggest sellers of Ram, announced in December it would stop selling its Crucial brand to focus on AI demand.
"It removes one of the biggest players from the market," Mr Mason said.
"On the one hand, that's less choice for consumers - on the other hand, if their entire production ploughs into AI, it should free up capacity for the others to make more for consumers, so it may balance out."
