Why computers and phones will cost more in 2026
Memory makers are reserving their output for AI data centres. The result: sharply higher prices for PCs and smartphones, and falling sales worldwide.
- Memory makers favour AI data centres: memory for PCs and phones is becoming scarce.
- Memory prices have more than doubled in a few months.
- Gartner forecasts a 10.4% drop in PC sales in 2026.
Memory, an essential component of every computer and every phone, has become scarce and expensive. According to research firm IDC, the big manufacturers have redirected their production towards memory used in artificial intelligence data centres, at the expense of memory for PCs and smartphones.
Prices multiplied
The price of memory chips more than doubled between the third quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, then rose by another 80 to 90% in the second quarter. In Africa, the average price of a smartphone has gone up by $41 in a year, according to Omdia.
Fewer sales
As early as December 2025, IDC forecast a drop in PC sales of up to 8.9% in 2026 and price increases of 6 to 8%. In February 2026, research firm Gartner announced an even steeper drop in global PC sales, of 10.4%, the largest in more than ten years.
- IDC warns of major PC market downturn due to memory crunch, Engadget.
- 2026 will bring sharpest PC declines in over a decade — PC shipments to fall 10.4%, Tom's Hardware.
- Africa's $30 smartphone goal is becoming harder to achieve, TechCabal.
Spotted an error? Write to infos@novotech.blog. Corrections are flagged at the end of the article.
