Memory shortage hits Apple, Microsoft; existential crisis for smaller players
Apple and Microsoft both announced price increases this week on key devices (iPads, Macs, Xbox Series S) citing soaring DRAM costs. Micron's average selling price for dynamic RAM rose more than 260% year-over-year in Q3. The crunch is driven by AI chipmakers like NVIDIA sucking up capacity for high-bandwidth memory used in accelerators, leaving less consumer capacity.
Smaller electronics manufacturers face what IDC analyst Nabila Popal called an 'absolute existential crisis.' Memory suppliers are "only answering calls of the big players," leaving smaller Android makers, consumer device startups like Mono Technologies, and budget phone makers unable to secure components or absorb 80-115% cost increases. GoPro warned it might go out of business; Sonos shares are down 23% this year.
For architects: this is a capex and supply-chain story playing out in real time. The AI boom's pull on HBM is cascading into device economics. Big hyperscalers have long-term supply contracts with Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung; smaller players have none. Expect consolidation in consumer hardware and an 8% rise in PC prices this year.
Sources
- Primary source
- Memory crunch shaking Apple and Microsoft existential for small guys
“Apple and Microsoft announced price increases this week on key devices as they pass on some of the soaring memory costs to consumers. But smaller electronics manufacturers don't have that luxury... They won't be able to get the memory because memory suppliers are only answering calls of the big players.”
- Memory crunch shaking Apple and Microsoft existential for small guys
“Micron said the average selling price of its dynamic RAM in the third quarter rose more than 260% from a year ago.”