AI memory crunch pushes PC and phone prices toward luxury levels
A Chinese-language report says an AI-driven memory shortage is pushing consumer device prices toward luxury levels, holding up Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra as the priciest Surface yet: 21,988 yuan to start, 48,388 yuan for the top bare-metal configuration, and over 50,000 yuan with warranty. It says Lenovo, Dell and HP raised PC prices by as much as 20% during the year, while Apple, Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO and vivo lifted phone prices from March, with some Xiaomi 17 Ultra and Huawei Mate 80 Pro Max models up as much as 1,000 yuan in a single move. It cites IDC reporting Q3 2026 global traditional PC shipments of 62.7 million units, down 20.1% year on year, and Omdia reporting mainland China smartphone shipments of about 59.3 million, down 12% and the lowest third quarter since 2013.
Rising memory costs show how AI data-center demand can pass straight through to everyday consumer prices.