What Occurs When PC Memory Costs Are Too A lot to Deal with?

Despite the hit of President Donald Trump’s boneheaded tariff scheme, the tumult of 2025, and rampant worth fluctuations, laptops did alright in 2025. Unfortunately, 2026 will bear even much less sunshine and rainbows. The largest PC makers don’t think about the non-public laptop will keep the identical. The subsequent PC you purchase could both be extra highly effective than ever, or it might be depending on the cloud computing that’s the reason costs are skyrocketing within the first place.

Data launched by analyst agency IDC on Monday confirmed that PC shipments grew almost 10% year-over-year in comparison with 2024. None of at present’s largest laptop computer makers did higher than Lenovo. The firm nonetheless holds 25% of the PC market share with 70.8 million PCs shipped in 2025 (HP, the next-largest firm, shipped 57.5 million). The firm’s market share grew in comparison with 2024. There’s extra chance {that a} PC purchaser can be taking a look at a ThinkPad or a ThinkBook than the subsequent Dell XPS.

The reminiscence scarcity has wreaked havoc all through all the PC market. Desktop PCs took the preliminary hit, with RAM prices hovering by the stratosphere and up into excessive orbit—greater than 500% in some instances. Laptops have been positive to comply with. Dell has already instructed Gizmodo it will modify costs relying on what occurs sooner or later. IDC warned PCs received’t simply be costlier; they could have much less RAM inside to compensate for ballooning prices. In latest months, SSD (solid-state drives for storage) costs have equally blown through the roof. This received’t simply affect do-it-yourself PC builders, however each single PC purchaser in 2026.

During CES 2026, I sat down for an unique interview with Steve Long, Lenovo’s business head answerable for its clever units group. I wished to assemble extra about the way forward for PCs, past mere costs. I’ve heard the fears from a couple of shopper in regards to the finish of consumer-end computing. AI information heart compute has created such a fervor for high-end reminiscence that each one three main semiconductor firms answerable for reminiscence—particularly Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix—have tuned their enterprise to supplying corporations like OpenAI for its multi-state Stargate information facilities. With information facilities sucking all of the oxygen out of the room, what’s left for shoppers who need higher-end compute for work or gaming? The future could also be break up between those that have entry to native compute for high-end duties and people who don’t.

“I don’t believe in a world that it’s all going to the cloud [or] it’s all going to be local,” Long stated. “It’s going to be a hybrid world.”

Silicon firms will dictate RAM in your subsequent PC

Lenovo could possibly handle the reminiscence scarcity higher than different firms. Last November, Bloomberg reported that the world’s largest PC maker had hoarded RAM simply earlier than costs began getting actually untenable, stockpiling upwards of fifty% greater than normal. Long confirmed the corporate had made long-term agreements with distributors all the way in which again in late September and October to fulfill the anticipated reminiscence demand for 2026. However, the reminiscence scarcity will seemingly final far longer than simply this yr. Experts have claimed the RAM scarcity will final by 2027 and into 2028.

I requested Long if Samsung was the PC maker’s foremost reminiscence provider, at the least based mostly on latest reviews from dependable retailers like DigiTimes, although he demurred and stated the corporate used “multiple vendors” for all of the areas the corporate operates in. Meanwhile, different firms as massive as Google, Microsoft, and Meta have reportedly camped operatives in South Korea, residence to 2 of the massive three reminiscence makers, to relentlessly beg for DRAM.

Lenovo made it clear that it could have to boost future costs as a result of RAM scarcity. Long stated, “We’re getting prices from our supply chain that are coming up higher for us.” The Lenovo exec is answerable for the corporate’s B2B (business-to-business) aspect of the chain, although he’s had earlier expertise at different firms on the buyer finish. When tariffs drove up costs on devices, shoppers noticed a variance of affect since OEMs (authentic tools producers) and retailers all needed to take successful at various factors within the chain. For instance, in 2025 Lenovo raised the value of gaming gear like its Legion Go S with SteamOS twice within the yr, from an anticipated $550 to $600, and later to $650 after launch.

Long stated extra PCs will edge towards premium with higher-end specs—extra RAM and extra storage—plus higher-performance chips. Better specs will inevitably price extra, even when PC producers attempt to supply finer parts to go together with expensive reminiscence. The lower-end market, then again, could also be pressured to depend on increasing cloud compute. It received’t be a direct shift however an extended slide towards a altering PC ecosystem.

PC makers could have fewer selections of RAM sizes. In an interview with Wccftech, Micron’s VP of promoting, Christopher Moore, stated that having so many choices for RAM, equivalent to 12GB, 16GB, and 24GB would “drop our output.” Instead, Micron is attempting to provide extra standardized portions of DRAM for PCs. Essentially, RAM sizes was once dictated by PC makers. Now, reminiscence is being generated by the whims of the silicon producers. Even if Micron finally ends up supplying shopper merchandise, it can have extra say over how a lot RAM your subsequent PC will get to make use of.

Fewer selections of PC

Costs for computing parts have been already at file highs, although chipmakers are beginning to push the highest-end processors more durable than ever. At CES 2026, Intel lastly dropped the total particulars of its Intel Core Ultra Series 3 (Panther Lake) chips slated for this yr’s laptops. AMD and Qualcomm additionally sport new higher-end processors, most notably the top-end ARM-based Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme. Whereas a lot of the previous-gen light-weight laptops got here with mid-range Intel Lunar Lake chips, a larger variety of Intel-based units this yr will include a Core Ultra X9 388H CPU, the top-end configuration.

“Memory is a hard business, from a silicon standpoint,” Long stated. “Silicon is going to be constrained as well, like your CPUs and some of the other components.”

Lenovo is managing the scenario higher than most, at the least based on Long. So what occurs to the smaller firms who don’t have the benefits Lenovo has? The Lenovo VP stated, at the least from his firm’s standpoint, they “wouldn’t mind” some consolidation. That doesn’t imply we’ll solely have one or two PC suppliers. Consumers could have fewer manufacturers that don’t linger on Best Buy cabinets to select from. Companies like Framework, which makes customizable and repairable PCs, have needed to enhance the prices of their laptops and desktops a number of instances for the reason that tail finish of 2025.

More selections for OS

Sure, PCs seemingly received’t turn out to be monopolized any time quickly. One of the explanations I take pleasure in overlaying the computing panorama is due to the depth of labor spinning out of makers large and small. Perhaps the one good factor to return from this mess of AI is the growth of working techniques on supply. There has been a large backlash to Microsoft’s push for Copilot AI in Windows 11. That leaves a gap for open-source Linux. Long stated Lenovo is open to extra units operating totally different software program (the corporate’s Legion Go 2 handhelds will embody a model operating Linux-based SteamOS). Hell, we now have Valve popping out with its personal Steam Machines which have the gaming-specific model of Linux set to reach early this yr.

Meanwhile, Google is planning to mix ChromeOS with Android, which means low-end Chromebooks could have extra native app choices out there. All however probably the most high-end Chromebooks (just like the overpowered Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14) will nonetheless must depend on the cloud for many on-device duties.

Our choices for private computer systems aren’t dwindling, at the least not but. There’s nonetheless an enormous market among the many hardcore DIYers and the laypeople alike for private computing energy. However, the period of low-cost PCs could also be coming to an finish, to get replaced with much more units reliant on the cloud—plus a paid cloud subscription—to deal with what we may as soon as do on our personal.