Not since the mid 1990s has RAM (random access memory), dominated the headlines like today, and for good reason – there's now a shortage, fuelled mostly by artificial intelligence.
At first glance, it might not seem like a problem for many of us, as most consumers haven't had to factor RAM into their smartphone or computer purchases in recent years. Analysts say that is about to change.
Several reports suggest that Sony, which is usually quite adept at keeping tabs on electronic components and supply chains, might have to delay the release of its keenly awaited PlayStation 6 gaming console. Some market analysts and investors have also warned that Nintendo may also be feeling the RAM pinch.
The shortage is being driven by the AI race, with data centres gobbling up ever more chips and RAM modules. That unprecedented buildout is causing companies to double down on trying to secure the components necessary to make it all happen, including RAM.
Betty Abate from Counterpoint Research, a technology market analysis firm, reflected on the specifics of the unprecedented RAM shortage. “One of the key issues is legacy LPDDR4 supply tightness brought on by suppliers shifting output to more advanced chips to service AI demand, which is distorting markets,” she said, referring to the RAM most commonly used in smartphones, tablets, laptops and other smaller devices.
Ms Abate said PC makers and companies making lower-end smartphones are most vulnerable to the RAM crunch, noting that consumers would also feel the burden. “Other consumer products, such as routers, gateways, and set-top boxes are affected,” she explained.
It's not necessarily doom and gloom for all companies, however, she said. Though the RAM shortage is not ideal, Ms Abate said companies like Apple and Samsung should be able to weather the storm.
“The smartphone makers best positioned to weather supply shortages will be those with scale, broad product portfolios (especially at the high end) and tight vertical integration,” she said.
In Counterpoint's memory research price tracker, published earlier in February, senior analyst Jeongku Choi said that the memory shortage was a “double whammy” for device manufacturers, but if you're in the business of manufacturing and selling memory, it's quite the opposite.
“The memory profitability is expected to reach unprecedented levels,” he said. “DRAM operating margins have already reached the 60 per cent range in Q4 2025, marking the first time margins for general-purpose DRAM have surpassed those of high-bandwidth memory."
Most analysts say there is no sign of the RAM shortage being alleviated any time soon. International Data Corporation, a Boston-based market intelligence firm, said that, as a result, there could be a contraction in the smartphone market, “alongside an increase in average selling prices”.
For the PC market, the situation is more dire. “PC vendors are signalling broad price increases as cost pressures intensify into H2 2026. Lenovo, Dell, HP, Acer and Asus have warned clients of tougher conditions ahead, confirming 15-20 per cent hikes and contract resets as an industry-wide response,” IDC said in a recent blog post.
For some consumers who have grown accustomed to technology products dropping in price, the situation might add to the stigma increasingly attached to the AI sector, especially in the US, where recent polling has shown more worries about how Big Tech's AI push might inadvertently burden certain demographics.
“What began as an AI infrastructure boom has now rippled outward, with tightening memory supply, inflating prices and reshaping product and pricing strategies across both consumer and enterprise devices,” IDC wrote, not mincing words.
