Thanks to the AI-driven chip shortage, prices for phones, computers, and consoles are sky-high—and still climbing.
If you’re in the market for anything with a memory chip in it, now might be the time to snag it.
Another round of price increases for consumer electronics seems to be underway. In June, Apple announced increased prices for its MacBooks and iPads. Xbox consoles are also getting more expensive starting in August. This is on the heels of already-raised prices on such products as Sony’s PlayStation 5 Pro and, you know, oil, which has raised gas prices and added to the cost of shipping something to you.
This fresh bout of price increases—following last year’s tariffs—is driven by many factors, but the chief culprit is the ongoing memory shortage, i.e., software component producers making it a priority to manufacture chips for AI data centers over other tech that requires them. If this were a short-term issue, the companies affected would likely have absorbed the costs. But the memory shortage does not seem to be disappearing anytime soon, and the AI bubble has not exactly popped yet. Too much demand for too little supply usually means the inevitable—companies pass their costs on to consumers via upward-creeping prices.
“In the past, you maybe could have waited out little blips like this,” says Shawn DuBravac, chief economist at the Global Electronics Association, which reports on the memory shortage and the industries it affects. “I don’t think that’s the case here. Waiting is not a strategy right now and probably won’t be for the foreseeable future.”
DuBravac says the move to avoid price hikes is to buy refurbished gear, but if you need something new, then keep an eye out for what price increases have already hit. If something hasn’t seen a price hike yet, it may soon. But even if prices have increased, this may be the best base price you’ll see in a while.
“They are very intentional in their pricing, and there’s a lot of coordination that goes along with all of that,” DuBravac says. “If you’re looking at products that have already had a price increase, you probably have a little bit of time to think about it.”
Just buying everything you want right this second is not realistic for people who feel financially strapped. People are feeling the pinch as the specter of back-to-school and holiday product cycles looms.
“People are worried that they’re going to have to pay a lot of money for the next device or the next purchase,” says Thibaud Hug de Larauze, the CEO of the secondhand marketplace Back Market. “The bad thing about that is just pushing people to upgrade more rapidly because they’re scared of inflation, basically.”
The bright spot on all this mess might be that refurbished and secondhand markets built to support and resell used products are booming. Buying refurbished tends to be more ethical and eco-friendly than buying something new. And now is a particularly good time to look into the secondhand market for devices like phones.
Sean Cleland, the vice president of Mobility tech at the recommerce company B-Stock, says used smartphones are selling for 10 to 20 percent more than they were in December 2025. In a normal year, those numbers would have likely been flipped, with used phones depreciating. But demand for refurbished products has gone up.
“The supply chain will correct eventually,” Cleland says. “Secondary market pricing will go back to normal depreciation, but it will continue being a step above what it was in 2025. It just never comes all the way back.”
A more vibrant resale market means more people are giving refurbished devices a shot. It might be out of necessity, but it’s led to a booming industry that helps secondhand devices find new lives instead of heading to the landfill. Manufacturers have also leaned into their own resale programs, offering buyback or trade-in programs for phones, computers, tablets, watches, and headphones. Selling that gear on third-party marketplaces is also likely to earn more as long as these shortages keep up.
“You’re going to get way more from that phone than you ever would before,” Cleland says. “Take advantage of it; there’s trade-in and resale value in all that stuff.”
