---
title: "AI-driven memory shortage forces smaller device makers to redesign hardware"
url: https://www.parallelquant.com/posts/ai-driven-memory-shortage-forces-smaller-device-makers-to-redesign-hardw-85c79d
source_name: "Tom's Hardware"
source_url: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ram/ai-induced-memory-shortage-is-changing-how-devices-are-built-fairphone-says-memory-now-60-percent-of-materials-cost-smaller-laptop-and-phone-makers-are-redesigning-products-and-have-to-test-for-fake-chips
published: 2026-09-16T12:15:42.000Z
topics: ["chips", "products"]
publisher: "Parallel Quant"
---

# AI-driven memory shortage forces smaller device makers to redesign hardware

*2026-09-16 · Source: [Tom's Hardware](https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ram/ai-induced-memory-shortage-is-changing-how-devices-are-built-fairphone-says-memory-now-60-percent-of-materials-cost-smaller-laptop-and-phone-makers-are-redesigning-products-and-have-to-test-for-fake-chips)*

Rising DRAM and NAND prices driven by AI demand have pushed memory to roughly 60% of Fairphone's materials cost, per Tom's Hardware. Smaller laptop and phone makers are redesigning motherboards, rethinking procurement, and testing incoming chips for counterfeits amid tight supply.

**Why it matters:** The AI buildout's appetite for memory is now reshaping consumer electronics far outside data centers, squeezing smaller manufacturers who lack the negotiating leverage of Apple or Samsung. It's a concrete downstream effect of the AI hardware boom that consumers will feel in device prices and availability well before any AI capability improves.

**Topics:** chips, products

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Read the original: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ram/ai-induced-memory-shortage-is-changing-how-devices-are-built-fairphone-says-memory-now-60-percent-of-materials-cost-smaller-laptop-and-phone-makers-are-redesigning-products-and-have-to-test-for-fake-chips
Canonical: https://www.parallelquant.com/posts/ai-driven-memory-shortage-forces-smaller-device-makers-to-redesign-hardw-85c79d
Published by Parallel Quant — https://www.parallelquant.com