The traditional consumer technology bargain—where new devices offer better performance for similar prices—is reversing as the artificial intelligence boom drives up global memory costs. High demand from AI data centers for NAND flash, DRAM, and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) has caused component prices to triple or quadruple, forcing manufacturers to compete with well-funded AI infrastructure for supply. Industry experts Francisco Jeronimo of IDC and supply chain scholar Dr. Vidya Mani observe that brands are now redesigning products with lower specifications, reduced storage, and cheaper materials to offset these costs. Because semiconductor manufacturing is slow to scale and carries high financial risk, supply remains tight, leading to a projected two-to-three-year period of stagnant hardware innovation and higher price points. Consequently, consumers are increasingly turning to the refurbished market or extending the lifespan of their current devices rather than upgrading to marginally improved new models.
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