The ongoing memory crisis has also impacted smartphones and is now affecting laptops too. Samsung’s Galaxy Book 6 Pro (16-inch), for example, starts at KRW 3.51 million (approximately $2,373) in the company’s home market, which is about 25% more than the same variant of the Galaxy Book 5 Pro, which launched at KRW 2.80 million (approximately $1,749 for an equivalent variant).
Yes, the company upgraded the notebook with Intel’s new Panther Lake chipset, but there’s more to it than just more CPU cores. The dramatic increase in the cost of RAM and memory chips is the reason for the price increase. When Samsung launches the Galaxy Book 6 variants in the US, they could launch at significantly higher prices than the previous models.
Due to Samsung’s dual role, the price increases are a warning for the industry
Samsung holds a unique position in the consumer tech industry. While the company sells products under its own brand, it also produces key components such as memory chips for other popular brands. So when the OEM itself increases the prices of its products (in order to remain profitable), it is an alarm for the entire industry and therefore also for consumers.
LG’s laptops met the same fate. The LG Gram Pro AI 2026 with 16-inch screen, Intel Core Ultra 5 processor, 16GB RAM and 512GB storage is available in the Korean market with a maximum retail price of KRW 3,140,000, which is approximately US$2,345 and approximately KRW 500,000 (US$375) more than the comparable 2025 model.
According to a report by Inews24, “Lenovo’s mid-range laptop price in the US market was $799 in 2025, but will increase 12.6% year-on-year to $900 in 2026.” If this is the extent of the price increase for mid-range laptops, higher-end models (with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage or more) could see even steeper price hikes.
Like smartphone makers, laptop makers could also see a drop in demand, driven not by a lack of innovation but by a dramatic increase in prices. So if you’re thinking about buying a new laptop, either stick with relatively older models that are still affordable, pay the “storage premium” in 2026, or wait a few years until the storage crisis passes.
