Technology is probably in one of the strangest situations it has ever been in. Waiting for discounts to get sought-after gadgets used to be part of a delicate dance, but that cycle appears to be over. With AI data centers now the primary customers of storage and RAM manufacturers, the consumer is now lumped in with the bill. This means higher costs and fewer transactions. Shortages of RAM and, in particular, NAND storage have impacted almost every aspect of technology, and it’s not going to get any easier anytime soon.
In addition to AI-focused customers setting a precedent for the top three RAM manufacturers, which produce 92% of the world’s RAM, OpenAI has purchased 40% of the RAM supply for the next few years. Micron, a storage and RAM maker, opted to stop supplying to consumers and focus solely on businesses in 2025, and said in its June earnings report that it expects the shortage to continue through 2028. Worse, Lenovo warned that it expects prices will never return to pre-2025 levels.
Waiting for a discount to hit most tech these days is for kits that don’t rely on RAM and storage. This is why, despite everything, the prices of products such as OLED TVs and monitors are falling steadily. On the other hand, as soon as a product requires modern storage or memory options, the price immediately starts to plummet.
Greed and a little war, as a treat
On the PC hardware front, this is obviously the worst it’s ever been. Even the pandemic shortage of electronics or the various hardware-sucking crypto bubbles have never been this bad. PC components, like RAM, are now four to five times higher than they were last year. Storage costs hundreds of dollars, and between $150 and $200 for a single terabyte. Even Apple, once infallible, with its stranglehold on the manufacturing line, had to give up and raise prices.
The video game industry has been particularly hard hit. Valve’s recent Steam Machine release was marred by exorbitant pricing, becoming one of the top things to know before buying it. Microsoft has increased its prices a second time and has mentioned a third in 2027. A PlayStation 5 now costs more than at launch. This would be the particular period in which patient players would opt for the end of the system life cycle, taking advantage of discounted prices and packages.
We also have global politics pervading everything. The war in Iran, which caused the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, will impact oil derivatives, such as plastic, as well as transportation costs, as gas reserves dry up and become much more expensive or will have to avoid the strait altogether. Additionally, the Trump administration’s constant and chaotic tariffs will continue to impact hardware from certain locations, which, unfortunately, the industry’s major manufacturers have centralized in China, a particular location that the Trump administration does not like.
