Acer CEO Challenges Industry Consensus on RAM Price Hikes

The ongoing memory shortage, fueled primarily by massive demand from AI data center expansions, has driven DRAM prices up nearly fivefold. This squeeze has impacted everything from consumer PCs and smartphones to high-end graphics cards. While other industry leaders argue that tight supply will continue past 2027, Chen contends these bleak forecasts are designed to protect profit margins rather than reflect actual market conditions.

Chen believes supply for most standard RAM and SSD types has already stabilized, with genuine shortages limited to specialized high-end components. He suggests that increased capacity from manufacturers like the Chinese firm CXMT will provide the necessary relief. Despite his relative optimism for late 2027, Chen acknowledges that consumers should still brace for further price increases of 5 to 20 percent throughout the remainder of this year.

Independent analysts remain skeptical of such a swift recovery. Jitesh Ubrani of the International Data Corporation expects supply to remain constrained through 2027, with no significant drop in device prices even as capacity increases in 2028. For the average buyer, this leaves a market defined by uncertainty, where the only immediate certainty is the continued climb in hardware costs.