Your new phone seems… off. Slower than the old one, maybe. Your laptop cost the same as last year’s model but feels cheaper somehow. The gaming console you just bought has less memory than you expected for the price.
Something changed. AI companies are gobbling up the world’s supply of computer memory, and three companies make almost all of it. The result is tech “stagflation” — gadgets that cost more money but deliver less performance.
When Three Companies Control Everything
Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology manufacture nearly the entire global supply of RAM, the memory chips that make your devices work. They can’t produce it fast enough right now, and experts warn the shortage could last a decade.
DRAM prices surged 172% year-over-year by the third quarter of 2025. Memory that cost manufacturers $100 last year now costs $272. And it’s getting worse — TrendForce expects another 50-55% increase this quarter.
The problem extends beyond price. Memory now accounts for roughly 18-20% of a new PC’s cost, up from about 10% just two years ago. That massive jump forces manufacturers to make uncomfortable choices about what else to cut.
AI Data Centers Eating Everything
AI companies are building data centers at warp speed, and those facilities need enormous amounts of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) to train and run AI models. The profit margins on HBM are roughly double what manufacturers make on consumer-grade memory.
Guess which one they’re prioritizing.
OpenAI’s “Stargate” project alone will reportedly consume 40% of global DRAM output. Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon have locked down supply contracts stretching years into the future. Every wafer allocated to an AI chip is a wafer denied to your laptop, smartphone, or gaming console.
This isn’t a temporary blip. AI will consume 20% of total DRAM production in 2026, and that figure is expected to climb higher.
What You’re Actually Getting Now
Device manufacturers desperately want to avoid sticker shock, so they’re keeping prices stable. But the components inside aren’t as good as they would have been last year.
Dell warned it expects costs to rise across all products. COO Jeffrey Clarke told analysts he doesn’t see how price increases won’t reach customers. Major PC makers including Lenovo, HP, and Asus have already signaled 15-20% price hikes coming in early 2026.
But price increases aren’t the only problem. Ryan Reith, a group vice president at market intelligence firm IDC, explained that companies are “looking for anywhere to cut corners just during this timeframe to offset memory costs.” That means cheaper displays, smaller batteries, or slower processors — changes that may not be immediately obvious when you’re looking at the spec sheet.
IDC predicts smartphone sales will decline in 2026 because of the memory shortage. Some manufacturers are simply canceling plans to build higher-powered devices entirely.
The Timeline Looks Bleak
Building new memory factories takes years. Micron is constructing a facility in upstate New York that won’t start producing memory until 2030. The company’s business chief told CNBC they’re “sold out for 2026.”
Other manufacturers face similar timelines. New plants in Idaho won’t come online until 2027-2028. The CEO of Phison Electronics, Taiwan’s largest NAND controller company, predicts tight supply for the next ten years.
Meanwhile, companies are hoarding. Some manufacturers are stockpiling memory at current prices to avoid even higher costs later, which drives up prices further and lowers supply for everyone else.
AI Billionaires, Crappier Gadgets for You
The AI industry is creating billionaires at record pace while average consumers get saddled with worse products at the same prices. Your base model phone stays at $799, but the RAM inside it isn’t as fast or plentiful as it should be. Want the version with more memory? Expect to pay an even higher premium than you would have last year.
Avril Wu, a senior research vice president at TrendForce, advised people to buy devices now before things get worse. She bought an iPhone 17 already. The implication is clear: if you need a new laptop, gaming console, or smartphone, waiting won’t help. Prices and quality are both moving in the wrong direction.
The world isn’t ending, but the gadgets that run your life are definitely getting worse while AI companies consume every available resource to build their data center empires. Tech stagflation isn’t coming — it’s already here.