Research firm IDC expects AI server demand to shift memory production away from consumer devices, raising PC prices and reducing shipments in 2026 as suppliers favor higher-margin products.
IDC forecasts an 11.3% decline in global PC shipments this year and an 18.3% increase in average selling prices. The figures are forecasts, rather than full-year results.
Chipmakers are investing more in high-bandwidth memory and high-capacity DDR5 for servers, IDC says. Consumer devices use dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) as working memory and NAND flash to retain data. IDC projects that DRAM supply will grow 16% in 2026 and NAND supply 17%, both below historical rates.
The National reported that a 32-gigabyte Corsair memory kit listed on Amazon’s U.S. site cost $250 in Sept. 2026, compared with $52 in June 2025. That comparison covers one product and does not measure prices across the PC market.
OpenAI said in October 2025 that Samsung Electronics and SK hynix planned to expand advanced memory production toward 900,000 DRAM wafer starts a month. That was a production target, not output already achieved. KB Securities estimates customers have reserved about 80% of Samsung Electronics’ projected 2027 memory output.
The costs may be harder for makers of lower-priced phones to absorb. IDC says their thinner margins could lead them to pass higher component costs to buyers. Apple and Samsung have more protection through cash reserves and longer-term supply agreements, it says.
Memory suppliers, meanwhile, are reporting stronger results. Micron Technology said revenue totaled $54.23 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 3, 2026, compared with $11.32 billion a year earlier. On a GAAP basis, its operating margin reached 80.7%, versus 32.3% in the year-earlier quarter.
IDC expects the shortage to persist through 2027. Deloitte says new factories may not add significant supply until 2029 or 2030 because construction and production increases take years.
