- Lenovo said RAM prices would likely “never” fall back to pre-crisis levels.
- The company also predicted a “new normal” for memory pricing starting in 2030.
- Microsoft expects the cost of memory to double in just over a year
If you were hoping that we might make it to the weekend without any more bad news on the RAM front, that hope is about to be dashed thanks to Lenovo and Microsoft – and there’s some blame for Apple, too.
First, as reported by German tech site ComputerBase (via Wccftech), during ISC 2026 – Germany’s high-performance computing, AI and quantum conference – Lenovo said RAM prices would likely “never” fall back to pre-crisis levels of a year ago, even after the upcoming chip production ramp-up (starting in 2028).
Lenovo apparently said “never,” accompanied by some laughter on stage, according to ComputerBase, and the tech site (keeping translation nuances in mind) clarifies that this is actually the next five years (or maybe a bit more) for the RAM industry, not an “absolute” future.
However, the report goes on to mention that Lenovo envisions a “new normal” starting in 2030, with prices significantly higher than pre-crisis levels, even with increased production.
On top of that, Microsoft just announced big price increases for Xbox consoles due to the RAM crisis. The company said: “Unfortunately, console storage and memory prices have increased more than 2.5 times, and we expect another doubling by fall 2027.”
Ouch. Microsoft pointed out that rising memory prices are particularly painful for console makers, as these devices are typically sold at a (slight) loss, with revenue made up from the sale of games (and subscriptions).
Finally, Wccftech also noted that Micron took a shot at Apple, although the memory chip maker didn’t specifically name Tim Cook’s company, but it’s pretty clear where the shot was aimed. As Wall Street Journal reporter Rolfe Winkler explains in an article on
Sumit Sadana, chief commercial officer at Micron, told Winkler: “We told a few customers who were very aggressive on pricing at the time that it wasn’t constructive.” The argument here could be that partners (presumably Apple) pressuring Micron on the price of their RAM hurt Micron’s bottom line and its ability to invest in more production capacity.
Analysis: double, double toil and trouble
While it’s difficult to gauge the exact meaning of Lenovo’s comments about the RAM crisis at ISC, it’s clear that the PC giant believes the future looks very uncertain. At best, prices appear to be struggling through the early 2030s, and it’s likely that a “new normal” will come into play here over the next decade.
Although there seems to be jokes about how prices will “never” go back to pre-crisis levels, I think there’s a good chance that’s not the case. When the cost of a product increases to a point like we’ve seen with RAM (and storage), it may never fully normalize. Okay, so maybe we’ll see some curveballs that disrupt things – like the bursting of the AI bubble, or at least a significant deflation – but I’m increasingly doubtful about the prospect of any relief.
Microsoft predicts a new double of the price of memory in just over a year is also a painful prediction to hear.
However, I’m not going to delve fully into the gloom here, because as I’ve said before, at least in the consumer space, RAM prices can only go so far before a ceiling is reached, meaning most people will simply refuse to pay the asking prices. And fortunately, there were also some glimmers of hope this week: Asus predicted that its products wouldn’t see as much of an increase in the second half of 2026 (but they will still increase), and a rumor circulated that memory chip giant SK Hynix might shift away from AI-targeted RAM (HBM) production to conventional RAM sticks, at least to some extent.
But I’m not getting carried away with any optimism just yet, because for now, as these latest developments in the memory crisis underscore, the pervasive sentiment around the future remains largely negative.
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