AI-driven demand for high-bandwidth memory is tightening the global supply of DRAM, pushing consumer electronics companies to delay upgrades, adjust product specs, and shift launch timelines. The companies most exposed are not necessarily the smallest; they may be the ones with the weakest supplier relationships.
As chip fabs shift production capacity toward high-bandwidth memory, the supply of conventional DRAM available to consumer electronics manufacturers is shrinking. The squeeze is resulting in some new products shipping without planned upgrades.
“Memory availability is now a first-order constraint, not an afterthought,” said Kristin Schuetter, Senior Vice President of Products for the semiconductor distributor Mouser Electronics.
That constraint is now forcing early design tradeoffs, with memory upgrades often the first to be cut.
Most electronics manufacturers designed their products assuming memory capacity would increase with each generation, Jim Handy, Founder and General Director of Objective Analysis, a semiconductor analyst firm, told Build Better.
Limited availability and higher costs are now pushing manufacturers, including PC companies, to revise configurations or postpone memory upgrades in upcoming releases.
“They are most likely going to be selling PCs with a memory size that is the same as the 2025 models,” Handy said. “They’re counting on the fact that the people who are buying PCs this year are people who bought their PCs in 2023 or 2020.”
The memory upgrade pattern is stalling, forcing companies to ship devices with similar memory configurations, fewer upgrade tiers, or reduced performance gains between releases. General users are unlikely to notice. Handy said consumers are far more sensitive to price than to memory size, which gives manufacturers cover to hold memory flat without losing customers — as long as they can maintain price too.
Rather than overhauling designs, many manufacturers are making smaller adjustments to product specifications. The shift here is not that dramatic, Handy said.
Large OEMs are looking for ways to limit design reliance on DRAM. For example, Dell told analysts in November that it planned to switch up product configurations to reduce its build costs, according to CNBC.
Even for Brilliant Labs, an AI-powered smart glasses company, suppliers are recommending avoiding memory-heavy designs. Its latest model, Halo, operates with relatively low memory requirements. That makes it less exposed to the current supply constraints.
Memory constraints are “not an active issue for us (yet!) other than certain suppliers preemptively flagging it as something to avoid on our BOM if not absolutely needed,” Brilliant Labs CEO Bobak Tavangar told Build Better.
Even as manufacturers ramp chip production, the three major memory suppliers, Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, are almost entirely sold out through 2026.
“Considering lead times for memory components are pushing into 2027, we are seeing large OEM/EMS companies place ‘buffer stock’ type of orders,” Schuetter said.
To secure supply, some companies are sharing forecasts earlier and signing long-term agreements with memory manufacturers, an approach that favors larger companies with predictable demand.
Hyperscalers are amplifying this shortage, already securing long-term supply agreements for enormous volumes of memory through 2028. Those agreements are not solely about scale, but reflect which companies suppliers trust to follow through on orders.
The bulk buying further limits supply for smaller hardware companies that cannot match hyperscaler purchasing power.
But access to supply is not determined by scale alone.
Memory makers pay attention to customer behavior over time, Handy said. Companies that historically cancel orders, pay late, or have been hard to work with will be deprioritized when supply tightens, which could force them to delay or adjust planned product launches.
Teams are making tradeoffs that were previously unthinkable.
Memory used to be a straightforward selling point; more was always better, and salespeople were incentivized to upsell higher-memory configurations. That dynamic is shifting. When memory is constrained, sales incentives move toward other features: screen size, battery life, and performance in areas where supply is not tight.
Memory makers don’t formally tier their customers by size, Handy said — they try to treat customers fairly. The bigger risk is for companies with poor supplier relationship histories.
Now, supplier relationships are a competitive factor. Memory makers prioritize customers who place consistent orders, share forecasts early, and maintain stable purchasing behavior. In a shortage, companies that have been difficult to work with get less favorable treatment.
Some, Handy said, may not be able to secure the supply they need to stay in business.
