Sorry, kids. Memory crunch threatens to kneecap Chromebook shipments
- Reference: 1773152591
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/03/10/memory_chromebooks_pcs/
- Source link:
According to the mystics at Omdia, total global PC shipments are on track to decline 12 percent in 2026: desktop PCs by 10 percent to 53.2 million units and laptops by 12 percent to 192.2 million units.
Say goodbye to budget PCs and smartphones – memory is too expensive now [1]READ MORE
Why? For readers with their heads in the clouds, an AI-driven memory shortage is plaguing the entire industry by inflating the price of the vital components, with a knock-on effect on systems.
The price of mainstream memory and storage configurations jumped between $90 and $165 since the start of last year, a financial pressure that forced PC brands to ditch promotions, hike purchase prices, and adjust specs, Omdia says. Memory prices are estimated to rise a further 60 percent in Q1.
Lenovo, HP, and Dell et al are prioritizing production to higher-margin devices as lower-margin kit has less room to absorb rising costs. At the same time, buyers of sub-$500 computers are more sensitive to price fluctuations, and are therefore more likely to delay purchases or reduce the size of orders.
[2]
Omdia expects the entry-level bracket to experience the biggest slowdown. ChromeOS platforms are forecast to shrink 27.6 percent year-on-year in 2026, compared to 12.1 percent for Windows and 4.8 percent for macOS.
[3]
[4]
"The supply-driven downturn in 2026 will not affect all PC platforms equally," [5]said Kieren Jessop, research manager at Omdia.
"Chrome devices face the steepest decline at 28 percent, as the education-heavy platform is particularly exposed to tighter component allocation, lower margins, and the discontinuation of some memory and storage products."
[6]
Apple's "vertically integrated supply chain and premium positioning" mean it is comparatively sheltered from memory dynamics.
The forecast 12 percent drop in PC shipments, however, is based on an expected minimum 60 percent rise in memory and storage prices during the first quarter, with the hope that subsequent increases throughout 2026 will moderate as pressure eases. Things could deteriorate, pushing PC shipments toward a 15 percent decline, possibly even greater.
The situation is evolving rapidly, as evidenced by [7]reports this week that claim NAND flash prices have jumped by as much as 50 percent overnight, which could have a further impact on system pricing if it turns out to be more than just a blip in the market.
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Hostilities in the Middle East are also a factor. The US and Israeli attacks on Iran have introduced "substantial uncertainty" for international transport and regional market growth. This could cause further complications, depending on how long it persists, Omdia notes.
[9]PCs and phones to get more boring and expensive in 2026 thanks to memory drought
[10]Memory scalpers hunt scarce DRAM with bot blitz
[11]Apple's budget-friendly MacBook Neo is bursting with color and compromise
[12]HP says memory's contribution to PC costs just doubled to 35 percent
The cause of all this is the boom in AI infrastructure, which has led memory chip makers to [13]reallocate manufacturing capacity to output more of the high-margin components for AI servers and GPUs, rather than the everyday memory chips needed for PCs and other devices.
This was noted in a separate report today from analyst firm Context, which says the AI infrastructure investment surge is beginning to reshape the economics of the global hardware market.
The European IT distribution market grew 5.2 percent during 2025, it says, outperforming the 3.6 percent originally forecast. This is expected to slow to 2.1 percent this year, as supply constraints and pricing pressures linked to the AI market affect hardware availability elsewhere.
"The demand for specialized components used in AI infrastructure is pulling production capacity away from other parts of the hardware market," said Context senior analyst Aaron Smith.
"It is beginning to influence how the entire hardware market behaves: from supply chains and pricing to the way organisations prioritise their IT investments." ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/26/memory_price_hikes/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2abBOOFwqVz-ZXKbRdh8AiwAAANA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44abBOOFwqVz-ZXKbRdh8AiwAAANA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33abBOOFwqVz-ZXKbRdh8AiwAAANA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260310225638/en/Omdia-Global-PC-Shipments-to-Decline-12-in-2026-Amid-Severe-Memory-and-Storage-Supply-Challenges
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44abBOOFwqVz-ZXKbRdh8AiwAAANA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20260309PD212/phison-nand-flash-inventory-price-2026.html
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33abBOOFwqVz-ZXKbRdh8AiwAAANA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/27/memory_drought_pcs_phones_suck/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/02/memory_scalpers_hunt_scarce_dram/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/04/apple_macbook_neo/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/25/hp_inc_q1_2026/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/06/memory_firm_profits_up_as/
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Cruelty
I know one non-technical person who wanted a simple laptop. Email, documents, maybe Word. Normal human laptop things.
The shop sold her a Chromebook.
Nobody warned her. And even if they had, what would they have said? "You can't install programs on it"? These are sentences that mean nothing to someone who just wants to write a letter. The warning itself requires knowledge the buyer doesn't have. That's the trap.
They said it was perfect for her needs, took her money, and let her walk out carrying a problem she didn't know she had yet.
A few days later, the call.
"Why can't I install Word?"
Because you cannot install Word.
"What do you mean I cannot install Word?"
Well… you can use Word in the browser. Which sounds reasonable until you try to explain why a laptop cannot run the one program it was bought for.
"Nothing works on this laptop. Only the internet."
Correct. That is the product. You cannot install software. The printer needs drivers, which the Chromebook considers an exotic and slightly offensive concept. A USB stick sometimes works, sometimes is treated like a suspicious foreign object at customs.
The Chromebook offers its own word processor. It looks like it should work. It doesn't work like Word. Nothing is where she expects it to be. The document she sends to her doctor's office arrives broken. She does not know why. She does know that the ads on every website now seem to be about her symptoms.
The machine that only does the internet is too slow for the internet. Websites take forever to load. Videos stutter. Every page is cluttered with things she didn't ask for and the hardware cannot handle.
The cruelty isn't the Chromebook itself. It's the silence at the point of sale. A shop assistant looking at a person who said "I just need to do normal things" and thinking: yes, this, the one that can't do normal things. That one's perfect.
She asked me to help get rid of it. I suggested the charity shop. They didn't want it either.
It is a doorstop now. It holds the bedroom door open. The first task it has performed without complaint, without needing Wi-Fi, without asking her to learn something new.
So the news that Chromebook shipments are declining feels less like a market correction and more like a small mercy. Perhaps fewer people will walk into a shop, ask for a simple laptop, and walk out carrying a future doorstop and a growing suspicion that computers used to be better.
Re: Cruelty
Is there a way to install a distro on chromebooks?
Re: Cruelty
I think you can run debian in some kind of container or chroot environment (I'm not sure of the details) - not the same as installing a distro, but for a reasonable number purposes it can suffice...
Re: Cruelty
I think it is possible on some of the less cheap x86 versions, although this varies by manufacturer, model, and age.
The bargain-basement ones that are often ARM based are much harder to mod into anything useful.
I did consider picking up a known "crackable" model as a cheapo Craptop but it's honestly less effort to pick up a second-hand ex-corporate laptop for often the same amount of money. Even a decade-old HP Elitebook has way better build quality and performance.
Sadly the story above isn't the first time I've heard of someone getting burnt by salesdroids suggesting a Chromebook....
Re: Cruelty
A shop assistant looking at a person who said "I just need to do normal things" and thinking: yes, this, the one that can't do normal things.
The only thing in which shop assistant's knowledge probably exceeds the customer's is the sales price.
In the meantime if they're not willing to refund as missold then a trip to the small claims court should be in order.
Perhaps all those Win10 but Win11 incompatible machines destined for eWaste…
might now escape landfill for a useful life running LTSC or IOT Win10, Linux or even ChromeOS Flex.
Perversely my only Chromebook was reflashed and now runs Mint usably but did run Win10 (slowly) out of curiosity.
ChromeOS was something that on the face of it seemed like a good idea but turned out to be a fairly shitty nightmare version of the "walled garden."
Most users might conclude " if I wanted to be fucked over by the the likes of Apple, I might as well be fucked over by Apple - at least they administer the beatings with flair and some class. "
Good riddance
Between the RAM/storage price spike and the new $600 Macbook Neo launch, surely looks like doom and gloom for chromebook.
Which is a good thing in my books, this is a pointless product inferior in every aspect to a second hand laptop or Android tablet (or even iPad) at the same price point. It was used to borderline scam cash strapped educational institution and end users alike to spend money on e-waste.
Got one free with a Samsung phone purchase 1-2 years ago. Can't use it even for web browsing, 1366x768 screen resolution in 2024 is criminal
At least there's a silver lining
> Chrome devices face the steepest decline at 28 percent
And I thought all the news today would be bad.