Artificial intelligence is moving into ordinary electronics, and the cost is no longer limited to cloud companies building massive data centres. PCs, phones, tablets, and other connected devices are being pulled into the same supply chain fight for memory, storage, and AI-capable chips.
The result is a consumer tech market where AI is showing up in three ways at once: higher component costs, higher minimum hardware requirements, and more software features tied to paid AI plans.
That does not make AI the only reason gadgets are getting more expensive. Currency swings, inflation, shipping costs, tariffs, and normal product cycles still matter. But recent forecasts from Gartner, IDC, TrendForce, and device makers show AI has become one of the strongest cost pressures in the market.
The price pressure starts with memory
The clearest pressure point is memory. AI servers need huge amounts of high-performance DRAM, NAND flash, and high-bandwidth memory. As suppliers prioritize data centre and AI infrastructure customers, consumer device makers are left competing for tighter supply.
TrendForce said in February 2026 that persistent AI and data centre demand was worsening the global memory supply-demand imbalance. The firm raised its first-quarter 2026 forecast for conventional DRAM contract prices to a 90% to 95% quarter-over-quarter increase and NAND Flash to a 55% to 60% increase. It also projected PC DRAM prices to increase by more than 100% quarter over quarter.
By September 30, TrendForce said memory prices were still rising even as some increases moderated. It forecast conventional DRAM contract prices to rise 10% to 15% quarter over quarter in the fourth quarter of 2026, with NAND Flash expected to rise 15% to 20%. The firm said notebook inventories were increasingly reflecting higher component costs, smartphone production remained under pressure from rising mobile DRAM costs and depleted low-cost inventories, and some PC brands were reducing SSD capacities in mainstream models to lower bill-of-materials costs.
For consumers, that means AI demand can affect devices that are not marketed as AI products. A basic laptop still needs RAM and storage. A budget phone still needs memory. A TV, set-top box, or low-cost tablet can still be exposed to the same supply market, even if it has no obvious AI assistant on the box.
PCs are the clearest example
AI PCs are not just regular laptops with a new sticker. Many of the features promoted by Microsoft and PC makers depend on neural processing units, more memory, and more storage headroom.
Microsoft’s support documentation for Recall lists Copilot+ PC requirements that include a 40 TOPS neural processing unit, 16 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of storage capacity. Those requirements are far above the minimum Windows 11 baseline of 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. In practice, that raises the floor for PCs meant to run the newest local AI features.
Gartner warned in February 2026 that surging memory costs were expected to reduce worldwide PC shipments by 10.4% and smartphone shipments by 8.4% in 2026 compared with 2025. The firm also said PC memory costs were expected to reach 23% of total bill-of-materials cost, compared with 16% in 2025. Gartner’s Ranjit Atwal said the sub-$500 entry-level PC segment would disappear by 2028, and that rising AI PC prices would delay projected 50% AI PC market penetration until 2028.
IDC’s June 2026 personal computing forecast pointed in the same direction. It forecast global PC shipments would decline 11.3% for full-year 2026 and said PC average selling prices were forecast to rise 18.3% in 2026. IDC also said pricing was unlikely to return to 2025 levels even after memory capacity expands.
HP offered a company-level example during its February 2026 earnings call. The company said memory and storage costs were now estimated at roughly 35% of its PC bill of materials for the year, compared with roughly 15% to 18% cited for the prior quarter.
AI features are also creating paid layers
The hardware cost is only one side of the price increase. The other side is software.
Phone makers are increasingly treating AI features as a mix of built-in tools, device-exclusive upgrades, and cloud-backed services. That creates a new pricing model where the device may include some AI features for free, while more advanced tools sit behind usage limits, subscriptions, or future paid access.
Apple’s iPhone support documentation says Apple Intelligence on iOS 27 or later is available on Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or iPhone 16 models or later, with language and region limits. Apple also says certain server-side Apple Intelligence features are subject to daily usage limits and that expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future.
Samsung’s Galaxy AI page says basic Galaxy AI features provided by Samsung are free. The same page says future releases may include enhanced features or new services offered on a paid basis, and that different terms may apply for AI features provided by third parties.
Google’s June 2026 Pixel Drop shows the same pattern. Some Pixel AI features are rolling out as part of device updates, while a footnote for Gemini Omni says a Google AI subscription is required, with features varying by tier and geography.
This is the shift consumers are likely to feel over time. A premium phone may include AI branding at purchase, but the full AI experience may depend on the specific model, region, account status, service tier, and future usage limits.
Budget devices are likely to feel the squeeze first
Higher component costs hurt low-cost products more than premium ones because entry-level devices have thinner margins. A flagship phone or premium laptop has more room to absorb a price increase or hide it inside a richer configuration. A budget laptop does not.
That is why Gartner expects basic smartphone buyers to exit the market faster than premium buyers in 2026. It is also why the sub-$500 PC warning matters. If memory and storage take a larger share of the cost to build a low-end laptop, manufacturers have fewer options. They can raise the price, reduce the specification, promote a refurbished or older model, or leave the segment.
IDC also said tablets face milder cost pressure than PCs because memory represents a smaller share of the tablet bill of materials. That could push some price-sensitive buyers toward tablets or used devices instead of new entry-level laptops.
Not every AI feature will mean a visible price hike
Some AI costs will be easy to see. A laptop category that starts at a higher price, a subscription prompt inside an AI app, or a flagship-only feature makes the price increase visible.
Other costs will be quieter. A device may keep the same starting price but ship with fewer discounts. A lower-cost model may disappear. Storage or memory upgrades may cost more. AI-branded devices may sit in higher price bands even when the practical benefit is unclear for everyday use.
That makes comparison shopping harder. A buyer comparing two laptops or phones now has to look beyond processor names and camera specs. The practical questions are whether the AI features run on-device or in the cloud, whether they require a subscription, whether they are region-limited, and whether the device has enough memory and storage to age well.
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