Most people already know about rapidly rising RAM prices, but I’m receiving more and more emails about price increases for a range of devices, in a way that’s reminiscent of the impact the Coronavirus/COVID-19 had in 2020 to 2022.
We’ve already covered the Raspberry Pi Compute Modules price increase in October 2025, followed by the Raspberry Pi 4/5 price adjustment last December. Unsurprisingly, it’s going to spread to other companies as well.
A few days ago, I received an email from SolidRun entitled “Customer Notification: Industry‑Wide Component Shortages and Price Increases”:
The global semiconductor, and electronic components industry is currently experiencing significant price increases and widespread shortages. What started as memories shortage covering mostly DDR4 and NAND integrated circuits and modules – expanded across multiple categories (including SoCs). As a result, many critical components now face extended lead times, with certain items that were previously available within a few weeks now requiring over thirty weeks to procure.
These supply chain pressures are affecting manufacturers across the industry, and SolidRun is working attentively to minimize the impact on our customers. However, given current conditions, we strongly urge you to plan your 2026 procurement cycle early and to place orders well in advance to secure allocation and avoid disruptions to your production schedules.
Our team is here to support you throughout this period. We would be happy to provide updated lead time information, forecast support, and planning assistance to ensure you have the components and systems you need.
Thank you for your continued trust and partnership.
So it’s not about RAM only anymore, but storage devices, and even SoC and other components. Earlier today, I received another from ITEAD for some of their SONOFF home automation gateways that only rely on low-capacity RAM:
We would like to inform you of an upcoming price increase on SONOFF NSPanel Pro Smart Panel, Zigbee Bridge Ultra | ZBBridge-U and iHost Smart Home Hub.
Due to rising material costs, we will be adjusting the prices of certain items to ensure continued product quality and service standards.
The updated prices will take effect on February 3, 2026. Orders placed before this date will be charged at the current prices.
For reference, the NSPanel Pro Smart Panel only needs 2GB of RAM, the Zigbee Bridge Ultra is a rather low-end device with 1GB DDR4 and 8GB eMMC flash, and the iHost Smart Home Hub comes with either 2GB or 4GB of RAM. On the bright side, price increases are not dramatic so far, although it’s more pronounced for the 4GB version of the iHost:
SONOFF Zigbee Bridge Ultra | ZBBridge-U
- Original Price: $59.90/€59.90
- Current Price: $54.99/€54.99
- New Price: $69.90/€69.90
SONOFF NSPanel Pro Smart Home Control Panel 86/120 Type
- Original Price: $119.90/€119.90
- Current Price: $89.90/€89.90
- New Price: $129.90/€129.90
SONOFF iHost Smart Home Hub-RV1109 DDR4 2GB
- Original Price: $79.90/€79.90
- Current Price: $71.90/€71.90
- New Price: $99.90/€99.90
SONOFF iHost Smart Home Hub-RV1126 DDR4 4GB
- Original Price: $99.90/€99.90
- Current Price: $89.90/€89.90
- New Price: $129.90/€129.90
If you plan to buy any electronic products, it’s probably a good idea to stock up early and purchase before the price increases kick in, as it’s unclear how it will all pan out. SK Hynix allegedly expects tight RAM supply to last until 2028, and it might impact other components indirectly as factories are repurposed for RAM production. The main culprit is the demand for AI datacenters, and unless there’s a crash prompting related companies to slash capital expenditures on AI infrastructure, the issue may linger longer than anyone hopes.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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