One of the largest chip manufacturers in the world and a key supplier of Apple - the South Korean company SK hynix - announced the maintenance of the structural deficit of RAM (DRAM) and flash drives (NAND) until 2030. Demand for RAM and drives will consistently exceed supply, and a return to reasonable prices for computer equipment in the coming years is not expected to be necessary. The main driver of the deficit is expected to be artificial intelligence. Data centers for learning and running AI models require huge amounts of memory, and manufacturers are shifting the power to produce high-energy HBM memory with higher margins, reducing production of conventional DRAM and NAND for the consumer sector. According to TechInsights, in the third quarter of 2026, the cost of DRAM and NAND increased by more than 300% compared to last year. Consumer memory prices have reached a historic high. Therefore, a group of DDR5 32 GB, which in 2024-2025 cost and #036;80-100, was now sold for #036;500 - 5-6 times more expensive. Some models have increased in price even more: a group of Patriot Extreme 5 32 GB DDR5-7600 August 2024 cost & #036; 110, and in October 2026 put on Amazon for & #036;1523 - almost 14 times more expensive. According to Tom's Hardware, the average price increase this year for DDR5 was about 500%. Next, SSDs, video cards and ready-made computers become more expensive. SK hynix has already entered into long-term agreements with 14 major customers, including global cloud providers. These contracts cover more than half of the company's production capacity in 2027 and 2028. Some agreements are up to 5 years, and the company is already in talks to extend them. However, a guaranteed supply volume does not protect buyers from rising prices: agreements provide for cost adjustments based on market conditions. Apple has kept the supply of memory in advance, but this does not save from the growth of procurement costs.

One of the largest chip manufacturers in the world and a key supplier of Apple - the South Korean company SK hynix - announced the maintenance of the structural deficit of RAM (DRAM) and flash drives (NAND) until 2030. Demand for RAM and drives will consistently exceed supply, and a return to reasonable prices for computer equipment in the coming years is not expected to be necessary. The main driver of the deficit is expected to be artificial intelligence. Data centers for learning and running AI models require huge amounts of memory, and manufacturers are shifting the power to produce high-energy HBM memory with higher margins, reducing production of conventional DRAM and NAND for the consumer sector. According to TechInsights, in the third quarter of 2026, the cost of DRAM and NAND increased by more than 300% compared to last year. Consumer memory prices have reached a historic high. Therefore, a group of DDR5 32 GB, which in 2024-2025 cost and #036;80-100, was now sold for #036;500 - 5-6 times more expensive. Some models have increased in price even more: a group of Patriot Extreme 5 32 GB DDR5-7600 August 2024 cost & #036; 110, and in October 2026 put on Amazon for & #036;1523 - almost 14 times more expensive. According to Tom's Hardware, the average price increase this year for DDR5 was about 500%. Next, SSDs, video cards and ready-made computers become more expensive. SK hynix has already entered into long-term agreements with 14 major customers, including global cloud providers. These contracts cover more than half of the company's production capacity in 2027 and 2028. Some agreements are up to 5 years, and the company is already in talks to extend them. However, a guaranteed supply volume does not protect buyers from rising prices: agreements provide for cost adjustments based on market conditions. Apple has kept the supply of memory in advance, but this does not save from the growth of procurement costs.