Overview
- Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said AI will consume more than half of global DRAM and NAND output in 2026, signaling a prolonged shortage in core memory parts.
- Apple CEO Tim Cook warned rising memory costs will weigh on the company’s results, and Apple has dropped the 256GB Mac mini option as the entry price increased.
- Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are steering capacity toward data centers, and IDC estimates roughly 70% of memory chips produced in 2026 will go to servers that run AI.
- Consumers are already paying more or getting less memory, with price hikes across major phone brands in India and lower base storage on devices such as Motorola’s latest Razr.
- Analysts cited by the Financial Times see relief only after 2028, even as Micron ships HBM4 for Nvidia’s next platform and reports its 2026 high‑bandwidth capacity is sold out.