Signal
6 articles covering "memory shortage"
Valve's cube-shaped SteamOS console shipped June 30 in four configurations from $1,049, sold through a randomized reservation lottery, with the company blaming an AI-driven memory shortage for a price far above its original target.
MSI's new Intel Arc G3 Extreme handheld shipped June 23 at $1,699 to $1,799, nearly double a Steam Deck OLED, as surging LPDDR5X memory costs push portable-PC prices to new highs.
Cook told the WSJ that AI-driven memory shortages make price hikes unavoidable. TechInsights estimates the iPhone 18 Pro needs a $270 increase to hold margins.
Sony's second PlayStation 5 price increase in under a year took effect on April 2, pushing the PS5 Pro to $900 and the standard console to $650 as AI-driven memory demand and trade tariffs compress margins across the gaming hardware industry.
Both GPU makers are shifting mainstream production to 8 GB models as DRAM prices surge 180 percent, MSI calls 2026 its hardest year since founding, and IDC warns the sub-$500 PC market may vanish by 2028.
Valve's cube-shaped SteamOS console faces component shortages that have already shifted the release window twice, but the company insists all three new hardware products will ship this year.