Samsung warns: televisions may become more expensive due to the RAM crisis!

Samsung is preparing consumers for possible price increases in electronics, including televisions. The reason is the escalating crisis in the DRAM and NAND memory market, which has hit the entire consumer technology industry in recent months.

According to information provided by Samsung's management during CES 2026 in Las Vegas, the prices of DRAM and NAND have doubled, and in some cases even tripled in the last 3–5 months. The main culprit is the explosion in demand for hardware and infrastructure related to AI, which has diverted production capacity away from consumer electronics.

In short: algorithms, data centres, and “AI slop” on social media are starting to have a real impact on hardware prices in showrooms.

A crisis that will affect everyone

Samsung has no doubts – the situation is unprecedented and no one will remain immune to its effects.

– “This is a situation we have never encountered before. No company is immune to its consequences” – said TM Roh, co-CEO of Samsung, to Reuters. – “The problem concerns not only smartphones but the entire consumer electronics sector, from televisions to home appliances”.

Although televisions do not use the high-performance DRAM memories known from AI servers or graphics cards, they are still dependent on the supply of basic memory components. And these are becoming more expensive at an alarming rate.

When will TV prices go up?

So far, there are no signs of sharp price increases in stores. Television manufacturers are primarily operating based on long-term component contracts, which are temporarily cushioning the rise in costs. However, the problem will arise when these contracts are renegotiated and with the launches of new models.

– “There will be semiconductor availability issues, and they will affect everyone” – admitted Wonjin Lee, head of global marketing at Samsung, in an interview with Bloomberg. – “Prices are already rising. We do not want to pass this burden onto consumers, but we will reach a point where we will have to consider changing prices”.

What do the analysts say?

The research firm Omdia warned on 18 December 2025, that the prices of DRAM used in televisions have doubled compared to the first half of 2025. Of course, memory is just one of many components of a television – the panel still remains the most expensive – but with current margins, every increase in costs matters.

And those margins are brutally low.

The cheapest models are the most endangered

The television market has been operating on extremely thin margins for years, particularly in the budget and mid-range segments. It is there that any potential price increases could be felt the most. Premium models – OLED, QD-OLED, or Mini LED – have more room to absorb costs, at least in the short term. If the memory crisis persists in 2026, and everything suggests that it will, televisions may become another category of equipment that quietly becomes more expensive. Not suddenly, not overnight, but consistently – model by model, generation by generation.

This time it's not about marketing, but about the hard math of components.