Roku has raised prices on its full lineup of streaming devices, with increases as steep as 60 percent on the Roku Streaming Stick 4K. According to PCWorld, Roku is currently selling through stock made with already-procured components at old prices, but new pricing reflects what a Roku executive told TheDesk.net were 'shortages in computer memory and other components caused by the artificial intelligence rush.' Roku-branded TVs, whose costs are dominated by display panels, do not appear to have been affected yet.
The shortage is being driven by explosive demand for RAM from AI data centers, according to PCWorld's report on comments from Samsung memory chip division EVP Kim Jaejune, who said the shortage is expected to continue through 2026 and into 2027, with supply difficulties potentially persisting until 2028. Other manufacturers, including SK Hynix, ADATA, and Micron, have confirmed the situation will worsen in 2027 before easing. Large companies lock in multi-year supply contracts, and memory makers have shifted sales toward more profitable enterprise customers, squeezing consumer supply further. New semiconductor manufacturing capacity is also being built too slowly to meet demand for several years, and smaller manufacturers could struggle to survive the current market pressures.
Apple has been directly hit by rising memory costs. Tom's Hardware reported that CEO Tim Cook described the market as 'a hundred-year flood on the memory pricing' and said Apple will pay even more for memory in the September quarter than in June. Apple's inventories rose 87 percent year over year to $11.09 billion as the company stockpiled memory, consuming $5.46 billion in cash over nine months. Memory costs accounted for more than the entire sequential decline in Apple's adjusted gross margin, and Apple guided September gross margin down to 47–48 percent. Cook told analysts the carry-in inventory benefit will shrink beyond September, and said market pricing for memory keeps rising past that quarter. Apple sources DRAM from three suppliers—SK Hynix, Micron, and Samsung—and is evaluating other options, including testing DRAM from China's CXMT for devices sold in China while lobbying Washington for broader clearance to use its parts, according to TechPowerUp and Tom's Hardware. Some U.S. lawmakers have asked regulators to bar purchases from CXMT and YMTC outright.
Not every company is being squeezed equally. TechPowerUp reported that Sony said it has secured enough DRAM from Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron to manufacture PlayStation 5 consoles without being affected by the shortage, anticipating a surge in demand tied to the November 19 launch of Grand Theft Auto VI. Sony has not announced immediate price hikes on the PS5, though it left open the possibility one could occur if supply conditions worsen.
Samsung and SK Hynix have restructured their businesses around the AI boom, according to Wccftech. Samsung has signed multi-year agreements, including with AI datacenter customers, that guarantee timely shipments and advance payments while allowing annual renegotiation; DRAM and NAND volume covered under these deals will reportedly account for 60 to 70 percent of Samsung's total production capacity. SK Hynix has finalized long-term agreements with 10 customers, and Micron has pursued partnerships with automakers for client diversification. Samsung reported record Q2 2026 revenue of $120 billion and profit of $62.65 billion, while SK Hynix posted a 76 percent operating margin over the same period, according to Tom's Hardware. TrendForce expects conventional DRAM contract prices to rise a further 13 to 18 percent in the third quarter.
The shortage is also affecting storage prices for consumers building PCs. Tom's Hardware noted that SSD prices have shifted dramatically, with one product that cost $80 a year ago now priced at $250. Despite the price volatility, capacity rather than raw speed remains the most important factor for most gaming use cases, since the impact of higher SSD read and write speeds on frame rates is generally minimal.