If you were waiting until 2026 to renew your equipment, trusting that interesting offers would appear, we have bad news. The laptop market prepares for a perfect storm that threatens to burst retail prices. A reasonable budget until now of about 900 euros will very soon become one of 1,300 euros, and it will do so without the product being better than last year’s.
damn memories. The first big culprit of all this is the DRAM memory crisis and NAND storage chips. Supply and demand have remained absolutely unbalanced with the rise of AIand that has caused a tragic situation for end users. If previously these components represented 15% of the manufacturing cost, in 2026 they will represent more than 30% of those costs. Making a laptop is simply much more expensive today than it was yesterday.
Intel doesn’t help. As if this were not enough, processors are also rising in price. Intel has already made a move by increasing the cost of its entry-level and previous generation CPUs by more than 15%. In fact, it is likely that things will not stop there: it is expected that by the second quarter of 2026, its mid- and high-range processors will also follow the same path, which will further suffocate manufacturers’ margins. And of course that will end up having the same impact: even more expensive equipment.
The dictatorship of profit margins. Manufacturers are governed by elementary but unassailable financial mathematics: profit margins. So that both brands and stores continue to earn the same, the increase in costs ends up being passed on entirely to end users. The result is devastating: a 900 euro laptop could see its price increase by 40%. And here it is not that brands want to earn more: it is that manufacturing that laptop costs 58% more just in CPU, memory and storage. Manufacturers and stores therefore assume part of the impact, but of course most of it is received by users.
According to TrendForce, the combined price increase of memory, SSDs and CPUs will cause the “bill of materials” for manufacturers to increase by 58% compared to 45% in the first quarter of 2025. Source: TrendForce.
Technological eviction. For months we have been talking about how this fever for AI data centers has caused DRAM and NAND chip manufacturers to completely change focus. Before they manufactured for humans, now they do it for machines. This has caused a “technological eviction” effect in which chips for PCs and laptops are left without room in factories. The offer is reduced to the minimum expression because what is really profitable now is Micron, SK Hynix or Samsung is to make memories for AI chips.
Small brands in danger. This crisis does not affect everyone equally. Large manufacturers can negotiate better prices and secure inventory thanks to their purchasing volumes, smaller and local brands are suffering especially. They face volatility that could leave them without inventory or with prices so high that they would be out of the game against large manufacturers.
AMD is no longer the refuge of yesteryear. Historically, when Intel rose in price or had stock problems, AMD emerged as an even more relevant alternative. Now the situation is so critical that the shortage is also affecting the firm led by Lisa Su. It is true that AMD has gained market share thanks to its competitiveness, but there are already reports of lack of supply in its entry range.
The uncertainty continues. The TrendForce study is clear: the coming quarters will be decisive to be clear about how this unique segment will turn out. With weak demand and skyrocketing production costs, the consumer is faced with an unsustainable situation: buy what’s left in stock now, or accept that the “standard” laptop may have risen in price forever? The era of the cheap PC could have come to an end, although there are striking surprises, such as the one Apple has proposed with the MacBook Neowhich goes just against the grain: it is modest, yes, but also an affordable option at a time when users are most stressed. Good play by Cook and his boys.
The alternative: used equipment and components. Faced with this situation, users can resort to a plan B that is not ideal, but that offers them a certain escape. This is where refurbished products could make more sense than ever, and where the second-hand market may mean that users may prefer not to go for the latest of the latest – from this year – and opt for the latest of the latest – from last year. If many do it, of course, there is the other danger: that even those reconditioned and second-hand products also rise in price.
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