A laptop price increase 2026 is sweeping the entire industry, not just Apple. If you assumed switching brands would dodge the hikes, the data says otherwise. Every major laptop maker buys from the same handful of memory suppliers, so they all face the same rising costs, and most have already passed them along.
In fact, Apple was late to the move. Counterpoint Research noted that most peer hardware makers, including Microsoft, Samsung, Sony, Dell, HP and Lenovo, had already raised prices on affected lines before Apple acted on 25 June.
Why Apple is not the only company affected?
The pressure traces to one shared source. Memory makers have reallocated wafer capacity toward high bandwidth memory for AI servers, which leaves less supply for the conventional chips inside PCs. As a result, the Apple price increase 2026 simply confirmed a trend already well underway across the market.
The cost impact is severe at the component level. HP told investors that memory now accounts for about 35 percent of a PC’s bill of materials, up from 15 to 18 percent a quarter earlier. That kind of jump leaves OEMs little room to absorb the hit.
The memory suppliers at the heart of it
Three companies dominate the market: Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron, which together control the overwhelming majority of global DRAM output. All three now favour high bandwidth memory because it pays far better, a shift that drains supply from every laptop brand at once. We unpack the mechanics in our AI memory and SSD price guide.
Laptop brands raising prices in 2026
The pressure is broad and well documented across the major vendors:
- Dell: raised prices, and Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock in late 2025, citing heavy exposure to rising server memory costs.
- Lenovo: CFO Winston Cheng called the surge “unprecedented” and disclosed memory inventories about 50 percent above normal.
- HP: reported memory at roughly 35 percent of PC build cost and warned of margin pressure.
- ASUS and Acer: lifted prices or reduced memory across several lines.
Tom’s Hardware notes that even budget favourites have edged upward as suppliers protect their margins, narrowing the value gap that once separated brands.
“The production of memory chips is becoming a zero-sum game.” Deutsche Bank analysts
Gaming laptops and consoles feel it acutely
Gaming machines pack large amounts of RAM and fast storage, so component inflation hits their bill of materials hard. Consoles tell the same story. Valve priced its new Steam Machine higher than intended, and explained in a blog post that rising RAM costs made its original target “no longer viable.”
Valve also raised Steam Deck prices by more than 60 percent, lifting a one terabyte OLED model from
$819 to $1,349. Microsoft, meanwhile, increased Xbox prices and dropped its highest end 2 terabyte configuration, while Sony hiked the PS5 more than once in under a year.
Business laptop prices are not immune
Business buyers face the same headwind. Premium lines such as the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon and the Dell XPS rely on generous memory and SSD configurations, which now cost more to assemble.
Because corporate buyers value reliability over price, vendors can pass costs along more easily here. Even so, expect higher quotes on refreshed fleets throughout 2026.
Expected timeline for relief
Analysts expect elevated prices to persist. New factory capacity will not arrive in volume until 2027, and Intel chief executive Lip-Bu Tan has said there is “no relief until 2028.” We track the full recovery outlook in will Apple prices return to normal, and the same timeline applies across the PC market.
Buying advice during the squeeze
- Compare total value, not just the brand badge, using our best MacBook alternatives roundup.
- Buy the memory and storage you need now, since later upgrades cost more.
- Watch for clearance stock still priced before the increases.
- Use our buy now or wait framework to time the purchase.
