Acer CEO Jason Chen expects PC prices to remain under pressure in the near term but could begin easing by late 2027 as the global memory shortage starts to improve. His forecast differs from longer-term estimates from several major memory manufacturers, which suggest that tight supply could continue into 2030 or even longer.
Chen told DigiTimes that PC prices could increase by around 5% to 20% later this year. He expects prices could reach their highest point during the first half of 2027 before gradually declining toward the end of the year. The forecast comes as memory prices continue to rise because of strong demand from the artificial intelligence industry.
AI data centres require large amounts of memory and storage, putting additional pressure on the global supply of DRAM and NAND products. As manufacturers face higher memory costs, those increases can eventually affect the prices of computers and other consumer electronics.
However, Chen believes the current shortage may not last as long as some industry leaders expect. Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra has said memory shortages could continue beyond 2027. SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-Jung has predicted that supply could remain tight through 2030 after shortages peak in 2027. Adata chairman Chen Li-bai has provided an even longer forecast, saying elevated memory prices could continue for another decade.
Acer’s Chen has offered a different assessment of the market. He said supply for many mainstream RAM and SSD products has already caught up with demand. According to his view, the biggest shortages are now concentrated in higher-end components, including the fastest DDR5 memory modules.
The continued expansion of AI infrastructure remains one of the biggest factors affecting the memory market. Data-centre companies are buying large volumes of high-capacity memory, leaving less supply available for other parts of the electronics industry. The resulting price pressure has also affected smartphones, graphics cards and gaming consoles.
PC manufacturers are facing additional challenges as higher memory costs influence the prices of other components and finished systems. CPUs, motherboards and other hardware can also become more expensive when manufacturers adjust their products to deal with changing component costs.
Chen also expects additional production from Chinese memory manufacturers to help improve the situation. Companies such as CXMT are expanding their memory production and could provide additional supply to the global market. Lower-cost memory could eventually increase competition and reduce some of the pricing pressure.
There have also been reports that Apple is considering CXMT as a potential memory supplier as it looks for ways to manage rising component costs. However, trade restrictions and geopolitical tensions could limit how quickly Chinese memory companies expand their role in international supply chains.
For consumers, the outlook suggests that PC prices may continue rising or remain elevated in the short term. If memory production expands as expected, prices could begin to stabilize and potentially decline toward the end of 2027.
Also read: GTA 6 PC Release Could Arrive Earlier Than Expected
