Since September of last year, memory prices RAM have become even more expensive 180% and they have become one of the most expensive components in computers, mobile phones and any device that needs it. The reason is well known, The demand for RAM and NAND memory, which is used in hard drives, by large technology companies for their AI data centers has disrupted the market and the situation has no signs of improving, not just this year, but not in the following years either.. As reported by Nikkei Asia, although manufacturers are increasing RAM production, it is expected that they can only meet 60 percent of demand by the end of 2027. The president of SK Group He has even said that the shortage could last longer until 2030.
Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron They are the largest memory manufacturers in the world and they are all working to expand their manufacturing capacity, but almost no new factories will be operational until at least 2027or even 2028. Only SK has been able to open a new plant this year, last February, in Cheongju, but Neither Micron nor Samsung have plans to do so in 2026.
The media states that production would have to increase by 12 percent annually in 2026 and 2027 to meet demand. But, according to Counterpoint Research, only an increase in 7.5 percent.
And this does not necessarily mean an improvement for the consumer market either. The new facilities will primarily focus on producing high-bandwidth memory, HBMwhich is used in data centers for AI. Since companies are already prioritizing HBM over general-purpose RAM used in computers and phones, It is unclear to what extent these new factories will help alleviate pricing pressure on consumer electronics devices.. From phones and laptops to virtual reality headsets and handheld consoles, many products have increased in price due to the shortage of RAM.
And none of these companies seem to be thinking about the traditional consumer, but rather about those who can pay them much more money, such as Google, Microsoft either Goal. In fact, part of the problem comes from how Manufacturers are reorienting their production towards this type of customer.. Last December, Micron announced that it was closing its brand Crucial of RAM and SSD, aimed at the consumer market, and would use its factories to focus on new customers, who have much deeper pockets.
The solution of many users to these increases has been to resort to older platforms that use memory DDR3 and DDR4. But just go through a list of the best-selling memories, like the one on Amazon, to see how these have also become extremely expensive, although not as much as DDR5. In fact, Samsung had planned to stop manufacturing DDR4 in 2025, but, given the demand and the fact that it is still profitable, it has decided to continue producing it until the end of 2026.