Brace Yourself: Laptops Prices Are About to Skyrocket

Every PC is going to get more expensive in the coming months—both stationary and mobile machines. Folk who were planning to build their own computer are screwed out of an affordable PC thanks to the ballooning price of RAM. However, anybody who was thinking of buying a prebuilt laptop should do it sooner rather than later. There are growing signs some of the largest laptop makers are planning to raise prices sooner than later.

Market analysis firm TrendForce reported Friday that most of the largest laptop manufacturers are considering—if not already planning—new price hikes. Lenovo, the company that still commands the largest market share in PCs, is reportedly warning customers (by that, we mean retailers) that current prices will expire come Jan. 1, 2026, according to a notice seen by industry sources. That means retailers should expect to see a new suggested retail price, which will eventually force consumers to fork over even more for their desktops and laptops.

📈 Memory crunch alert! #Dell reportedly to hike prices 15-20% as soon as mid-Dec, #Lenovo follows in early 2026. Time to lock in orders.💡More: https://t.co/osuy2oPhNt 🔗 pic.twitter.com/m7MTczLitl

— NEWS (@NEWS2082680) December 5, 2025

Gizmodo asked Lenovo for confirmation of its plans, but the company did not respond to a request for comment before press time. All companies are dealing with the same issue. Memory prices have increased at a relentless pace over the past two months due to a growing shortage of DRAM (dynamic random access memory) and NAND, which is used for flash storage. Major semiconductor companies, such as Samsung and SK Hynix, have listened to the siren call of AI data centers and have refocused their industries, creating memory for ongoing projects like OpenAI’s multi-state Stargate project. AI memory is proving far more lucrative for companies, so much so that major memory supplier Micron ended its Crucial consumer-end brand to put all its focus on supplying data centers.

HP, the second-largest PC supplier by market share, is in similarly dire straits. Korean newspaper Chosun Ibo reported earlier this week that both HP and Dell are re-examining their product roadmaps just weeks before they’re expected to unveil their new products at CES 2026. HP’s CEO Enrique Lores has suggested memory makes up for around 15 to 20% of a PC’s cost. That’s only exacerbated by the refocus on AI in PCs, like with Microsoft’s Copilot+ designation. These PCs need more RAM to facilitate on-device AI of any kind—normally at least 16GB if not more. If you were wondering why Apple is now providing at least 16GB on all base MacBook models, now you know why.

TrendForce’s anonymous industry sources suggested Dell would raise prices by around that same 15 to 20% as soon as mid-December. Dell’s brand encompasses its lineup of consumer- and business-focused laptops as well as gaming products through its Alienware brand. The company is not ruling out any price hikes, though to what extent is the remaining question.

In an email statement, Dell told Gizmodo:

Like others in the industry, Dell takes targeted pricing action, when necessary, while maintaining supply continuity and its commitment to customer value. Our supply chain is resilient and globally diverse. It’s designed to offer the needed flexibility when navigating macroeconomic, regulatory, and trade dynamics.

Representatives from Lenovo and HP didn’t respond to a request for comment. We’ll update this piece if we hear more.

This trend of price increases will inevitably hurt the smallest brands worse. OneXPlayer, the maker of boutique gaming handhelds and PCs, told customers it had halted any new orders of its big, expensive Apex gaming handheld. It said “current stock is fully allocated†for pre-sale customers. It now has to “confirm new pricing with our memory and SSD suppliers.†You can guess that if that PC is already expensive, it will cost even more going forward.