# AI Buildout Drives Memory Shortages, Raises Gadget Prices > Source: > Published: 2026-06-26 20:11:10+00:00 Major consumer-tech companies including **Apple** and **Microsoft** have announced price increases on laptops, tablets and gaming consoles as global memory and storage chip costs climb. Apple said in a statement, "We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly," and updated online prices for models including the **MacBook Neo**, **iPad** and **HomePod**, according to CNN, CBC and CBS News. CBS News and Fortune attribute the squeeze to hyperscalers such as **Alphabet**, **Amazon** and **Meta** buying large shares of memory capacity to fuel AI data center expansion; Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told CBS News that "the vast majority of the chips are going to the AI buildout." Microsoft told CBS News that console memory costs have more than doubled and that it expects further increases.