Do you have a phone in your pocket you'd like to upgrade in the next few years? Fancy a game console or handheld? A laptop, perhaps? Will you need a new router, whether you're purchasing outright or renting from your ISP? Each of these devices is expected to have shortages, price hikes, or both in 2026. And even if you don't plan to buy, you depend on goods and services from others who'll be paying more to upgrade their devices.
Sony and Nintendo are reportedly feeling squeezed by RAM shortages as demand from AI data centers takes up an increasing share of memory chip production. In response to rising costs and dwindling chip supplies, Sony is considering pushing back the release of its next PlayStation console "to 2028 or even 2029," according to industry sources cited by Bloomberg, while Nintendo may increase the $450 price of its Switch 2 console this year.
The ongoing RAM shortages and the associated increase in RAM prices are starting to affect other pieces of hardware that make use of fast memory. Graphics cards are especially susceptible, which has seemingly forced Nvidia to start discontinuing at least two 50-series cards that ship with 16GB of VRAM. A report by Hardware Unboxed states that several GPU manufactueres have designated both the RTX 5070Ti and the 16GB version of the RTX 5060Ti as "end of life," meaning that no new stock is being produced.
With unbridled expansion of AI data centres, that require large amounts of high-performance memory, the consumer hardware market is facing a dire shortage of RAM globally. Consequently, amidst dwindling supplies, the prices of RAM have skyrocketed. An Insider Gaming report Monday claimed that the increasing RAM prices could delay the next generation of consoles. According to the publication's sources, RAM prices and availability have become a concern for platform holders like Sony and Microsoft.
Raspberry Pi has raised prices across much of its latest lineup while launching a new $45 Raspberry Pi 5 with 1GB of RAM, it's first sub-$50 model in the series. The increases hit the entire Pi 5 range: the 2GB model jumps $5 to $55, while the 16GB version rises $25 from $120 to $145. Select Raspberry Pi 4 models are also affected, with the 4GB version increasing to $60 (up $5) and the 8GB to $85 (up $10).