The same Microsoft Surface I bought 4 months ago is 69% more expensive now - here's why

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

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ZDNET's key takeaways

Memory and SSD costs could rise 130% by 2026, driving PC prices up.

Surface prices surged as much as 69% in recent months due to those costs.

Rising component prices may shrink PC demand, especially entry-level options.

You think groceries are expensive? Wait until you hear what is happening to the cost of the memory and storage chips inside that PC you were thinking of buying later this year.

According to a recent Gartner report, the combined cost of DRAM and SSDs will increase by 130% by the end of 2026. The culprit, of course, is the insatiable demand for memory and storage from cloud providers building AI-related applications, and chip makers will not be able to catch up with demand for another year or two at least.

Also: 8GB of RAM is enough for a MacBook in 2026 - here's why

Those soaring prices are already having an effect on the PC market, and the effect on Microsoft is especially severe.

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