If you’ve noticed tech prices creeping up, you aren’t imagining it. A major report today highlights a “RAMmageddon” happening behind the scenes. Giant manufacturers like Samsung and Micron are shifting their focus away from making memory for phones and laptops so they can build high-bandwidth memory for AI data centers. Because everyone wants AI, there’s a massive shortage of the standard memory chips used in everyday gadgets.
This shortage is the real reason the new iPhone 17e and iPad Air saw a price hike this week. Basically, every chip used to power an AI bot is a chip not going into a consumer smartphone. It’s a zero-sum game that’s forcing tech giants to choose between keeping prices low for us or keeping up with the global AI arms race. For now, it looks like the AI boom is winning, and our wallets are feeling the pinch.
