Everything is Expensive, and AI is to Blame

If you pay attention to tech news, you likely heard one of the many stories about how AI is buying up EVERYTHING. And everyone is feeling the squeeze, whether it's AI buying so much RAM that manufacturers are shutting down consumer production so they can focus on AI, or AI companies buying all of Western Digital's 2026 hard drives, or Intel and AMD letting server manufacturers know that there would be delays for new CPUs, or Samsung's Phone division not being able to get RAM for phones from their RAM division.

The simple fact of the matter is that AI companies are expanding at an exponential rate, and there's only so much supply. And when companies can sell a product to AI at an insane markup compared to consumers, they'll do it. What does this mean for you, the consumer?

1. Don’t expect new phones every year.

There are already leaks that Apple won't release the iPhone 18 in 2026, instead only releasing the higher-end models. Comments seem to claim this is a marketing move, but it's more likely due to the fact that TSMC, one of the largest chip manufacturers, is also feeling the pinch of AI.

Google and Samsung are playing as though it's business as usual with both working on launching new products this month, but they also already had things in production for months, so it's very likely that they will be making similar steps next year. Regardless, I suspect it will lead to smartphone manufacturers targeting the higher-end market, where prices were already $1500-2000 for a new phone. Also expect gimmicks like folding phones to become more mainstream as the technology has matured and become less expensive, leading to way higher margins.

2. Squeeze more life out of your devices.

You should expect that computers and phones in the next few years will become much more expensive and harder to get. Warranties will likely not expand to cover this trend, and if they do expect them to become more expensive as well. If you're looking to buy a new machine, I'd suggest you do it sooner than later, as prices will likely continue to go up. You’ll want to get used to using PCs and laptops for 5 years or more when you’re able, since getting new laptops will take weeks or months and might cost significantly more.

3. Expect nothing will ever return to the prices of the olden days.

We saw this after COVID caused global supply chain shortages across all industries. Prices for everything went up, and most never came back down as the supply chain recovered. We should expect this to be the case with these AI-induced shortages as well.

It's important to note that AI RAM and consumer RAM is not the same thing, so it will take them time to spin up AI productions and then will take time for them to pivot back to consumer products when (not if) the AI bubble pops and all of those companies stop trying to make AI a thing, and existing AI stock cannot be used by consumers.

On the other hand, there are some benefits. It’s helping automate repetitive work, improve productivity tools, enhance accessibility, and unlock new capabilities across industries. While the infrastructure costs are high, the technology itself offers real efficiency gains and new possibilities.