Industry sources cited by TrendForce report that Dell is preparing a 15-20% price hike as early as mid-December, driven by a sharp rise in DRAM costs. The article highlights DDR5 pricing that jumped around 70% year-over-year, with certain parts spiking more than 170%. Dell chief operating officer Jeff Clarke is quoted saying he has “never seen memory-chip costs rise this fast,” as component prices surge across multiple categories and force reassessments of product pricing and timelines.
Lenovo has begun notifying customers that pricing will increase in early 2026 and that all current quotes will expire on January 1, urging buyers to place orders sooner rather than later. Other major original equipment manufacturers, including HP, Samsung, and LG, are rethinking 2026 product plans, particularly around Artificial Intelligence pcs and tablets. HP chief executive Enrique Lores warned that H2 2026 may require further price adjustments and noted that memory accounts for roughly 15-18% of total pc cost, illustrating how elevated component prices cascade into retail pricing and product design decisions.
TrendForce updated its outlook to reflect the pressure on margins and demand, cutting its 2026 notebook forecast from +1.7% YoY growth to a -2.4% decline. The firm says rising memory prices are increasing Bill of Materials (BOM) costs and compelling brands to raise retail pricing, which in turn weakens demand. Consumers should expect broad impacts across categories in 2026: higher prices, constrained availability, and some new products shipped with lower specifications to control cost. The article also notes that Micron recently shut down its nearly 30-year-old Crucial consumer brand, shifting resources toward higher-margin Artificial Intelligence products, underscoring how suppliers are reallocating investment in response to market dynamics.
