If you’ve been eyeing a shiny new MacBook, iPad or even your next premium smartphone, you may have noticed something painful. The price tags have suddenly started aiming for the moon. Apple’s recent price hikes are not just about branding or bigger profits. They are a sign of a much bigger global tech problem.
Apple may just be the first domino to fall. Behind the scenes, a memory chip crunch, AI’s appetite and geopolitical tensions have collided to create the perfect storm. And yes, your wallet is caught in the crossfire.
AI gobbling up memory chips
Artificial intelligence isn’t just consuming electricity. It is also consuming enormous amounts of memory. Every AI chatbot, image generator and large language model runs inside massive data centres packed with GPUs. Those processors rely on enormous amounts of specialised High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), the fastest memory available today.
As Microsoft, Google, Meta, Amazon, OpenAI and other AI giants race to build bigger AI models, demand for HBM has exploded. The result? According to industry estimates, prices of conventional DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and NAND (short for NOT AND) memory have surged sharply in 2026, with some categories witnessing an increase of nearly 90 per cent compared to late 2025.
Why Apple finally blinked
Apple is famous for squeezing suppliers on price. If any company could negotiate better deals, it would be Apple. But this time, even Apple couldn’t escape the math. The company recently increased prices of several MacBook and iPad models after saying the cost of memory and storage chips had become unsustainable.
Depending on the model and configuration, prices have risen by roughly 15-25 per cent, with some premium variants becoming up to Rs 1 lakh more expensive.
Memory isn’t a tiny component anymore. Today’s premium laptops routinely come with 16GB to 64GB of RAM and up to several terabytes of storage. When both DRAM and NAND become significantly more expensive at the same time, manufacturers face only three choices: accept lower profits, reduce specifications or increase prices. Apple chose the third.
Not just about shortages
This isn’t the kind of chip shortage the world experienced during the pandemic. Back then, factories struggled to produce enough chips. Today, factories are producing plenty, but many are making different kinds of chips. The world’s biggest memory manufacturers, including Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron, are increasingly dedicating production lines to AI-grade HBM because those chips generate much higher profits.
Industry estimates suggest global DRAM supply will grow by only around 16 per cent this year, nowhere near enough to satisfy the booming AI demand. A cutting-edge memory fabrication plant can cost tens of billions of dollars and often takes two to four years before it starts producing chips. And, relief isn’t coming anytime soon.
trade tensions adding to cost
The semiconductor industry stretches across continents. Export controls, technology restrictions and ongoing trade tensions have made the supply chain far more expensive and unpredictable. Companies now have to diversify suppliers, maintain larger inventories and sign long-term contracts just to secure enough chips.
Other brands will follow
Every electronics company buys memory from the same handful of suppliers. Whether it’s Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Asus or smartphone brands, everyone is feeling the pressure. Analysts expect conventional DRAM contract prices to rise by 58-63 per cent this year, while NAND flash prices could jump 70-75 per cent.
Some brands may openly increase prices. Others may quietly reduce storage capacities, ship lower-RAM variants.
Buy now or wait?
If you genuinely need a laptop, tablet or smartphone for work, studies or content creation, waiting may not save you much money. Industry experts believe memory prices are likely to remain elevated well into 2027, largely because AI demand continues to outpace supply. But if your current device is still running perfectly, waiting isn’t a bad idea.
Festive sales, exchange bonuses and cashback offers can often soften the impact. There’s another smart trick too. Apple’s storage upgrades are notoriously expensive. For many users, buying an external SSD or using cloud storage can offer far better value than paying a premium for higher built-in storage.
The new normal
For years, consumers got used to gadgets becoming faster, and smarter. AI has flipped that script. The same memory chips that power your MacBook or smartphone are now being snapped up by companies building billion-dollar AI data centres. Analysts expect the market for HBM alone to grow from roughly $35 billion in 2025 to nearly $100 billion by 2028. That’s a staggering jump, and a sign that AI’s appetite is only getting bigger.
For consumers, the takeaway is simple. Buy because you need a device, not because you are waiting for prices to magically crash.
